The “Real” Last Words of Christ (Love)

Matthew 28:16-20

Any person’s last words are usually among the most important words he or she will ever speak. When someone is speaking for the final time we often find people leaning in just so they can listen carefully to what is being said. Look through the Old Testament stories of the patriarchs of Israel and listen to them as they come to the final hours of their lives. What you hear is them uttering words of challenge, warning and prophecy concerning their loved ones and the nation. Those “last words” are among the most important words spoken in the unfolding drama of the nation of Israel, through whom Christ was ultimately delivered into our world.

In this series of messages, I have been asking you to lean in and listen carefully to some of the “last words” of Christ following His resurrection and before His ascension back to Heaven. Too often, we think of Jesus’ last words as those He spoke while hanging on the cross. But, the “real” last words of Christ are the ones recorded after He arose from the grave.

Even after Christ’s ascension He did not stop speaking altogether. We have at least four other accounts of the resurrected/ascended Christ appearing to people at different times. In three of these accounts He spoke: twice to Paul and once to the Apostle John (Acts 7:55; 9:3-6; Acts 22:17-21; 23:11; Revelation 1:10-19).

All of these “real” last words of Christ remind us that He is very much alive and is still speaking to His children today...through the scripture.

Among the most significant "last words" of Jesus are the ones He spoke to His disciples on a mountain in the region of Galilee (Matthew 28:16). We are not told the exact location of this mountain where He gave what is called “The Great Commission,” but it was obviously a place well known to all of the remaining disciples.

There is good reason to think that not only were the eleven disciples present at this post-resurrection appearance of Christ, but that more than five hundred others may have been there and heard these “final words” of Jesus recorded for us in the Gospel of Matthew. We know from 1 Corinthians 15:6 that at least on one occasion there were that many people that saw Christ at one time after His resurrection. It seems reasonable that this could have been that occasion. As Dr. David Brown observes, “Nothing can account for such a number as five hundred assembled at one spot but the expectation of some promised manifestation of their risen Lord; and the promise before His resurrection, twice repeated after it, best explains this immense gathering.” (Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. [1997]. Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible [Vol. 2, p. 63]. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.) Dr. B.H. Carroll says, “...by having this big gathering in Galilee, it would avoid creating a disturbance, for if a meeting had been held in Jerusalem, not so many could have attended, and there they would be liable to interruption by the excited people.” (B.H. Carroll, An Interpretation of the English Bible, 13 Vols. [Nashville, BRoadman, 1942], Vol. 11) What we can deduce from these two comments by these eminent scholars is that between five and six hundred people may well have heard Jesus give “The Great Commission” to the disciples on the mountain that day.

One thing's for certain: the disciples must have known that what they were going to hear from Jesus was going to be important. The reason is because when Jesus previously gathered with His disciples on mountains, each occasion held a place of great significance.

For instance:

• Jesus called the twelve to be His disciples on a mountain (Mark 3:13-14; Luke 6:12-13).
• He preached His “Sermon on the Mount” on a mountain (Matthew 5-7).
• He was transfigured before three of His disciples on a mountain (Matthew 17:1-8).
• He unveiled the eschatological future to His disciples on a mountain (Matthew 24-25).

Surely the disciples understood that meeting Jesus on this mountain at this specific time in Galilee meant something big was about to happen.

After the large crowd had gathered that day, Jesus approached them and the disciples immediately fell before Him in worship (Matthew 28:17). Others, in the larger body of people, did not immediately recognize Him as the resurrected Christ and “doubted” (or “hesitated to believe”) it was Him. It wasn’t long, though, before they also recognized Him and worshipped Him with the others.

Matthew records that Jesus then spoke to the eleven disciples, but the command they were given would have far-reaching implications well beyond the disciples themselves. His central imperative was for them to “make disciples” and in doing so, He spoke about four universal truths:

1. He has “all authority” to send them on this mission (Matthew 28:18).

2. The mission is to be to “all nations” (Matthew 28:19).

3. They are to teach the new disciples “all things” He has commanded (Matthew 28:20).

4. He promised to be with them “all the days” (Matthew 28:20).

It’s important to grasp the real significance of this singular command ("make disciples") that Jesus gave these men on this day. Too often we read these words to say something like, “Go, and make converts of all the nations,” but that is not what Jesus told them to do. Dr. William Hendrickson writes, “‘Make disciples’ ...is not exactly the same as ‘make converts,’ though the latter is surely implied.’” Another well-known preacher, John Wesley wrote, “The Church changes the world not by making converts but by making disciples.” In other words, making converts and “making disciples” are not necessarily synonymous terms.

Obviously, the first step in becoming a disciple of Jesus has to involve a decision that a person makes to trust Christ alone for personal salvation (conversion). No one has his/her sins forgiven or has the promise of eternal life apart from the decision to receive Him personally. The “door” (Jesus-John 10:7, 9) through which all people must enter to be right with God may seem exclusive to the person who has no spiritual understanding. But, part of our task in obeying “The Great Commission” includes our making sure every person knows that Jesus is not just one of the ways a person approaches God. Rather, it is our task to make sure everyone knows that He is the ONLY way of coming to God!! The scripture is clear that no one comes to the Father but through Jesus Christ (cf. John 14:6) Who paid for our sins on the cross and rose again to bring salvation to all that receive Him (cf. John 1:12).

However, the initial step of becoming a believer in Jesus is just the beginning of what Christ commanded these men (and all of us) to do in “making disciples.” Once a person has made the decision to trust in Jesus, there is still the matter of each new believer becoming a fully devoted follower of Christ. This is a continuing process that involves entering into the life of the church, sound instruction in the faith, and ultimately, each believer reproducing other disciples of Christ that continue this same pattern.

For too many years we’ve been content to count the people that make “decisions for Christ” without understanding and obeying the full extent of "The Great Commission." Consequently, we have failed to obey Christ’s command fully and in the process, have left new believers struggling to understand all that it means to be His disciples. Sadly, some of these fell away from the faith simply because they were not nurtured and instructed in how to follow Christ!

For us to be obedient to "The Great Commission" we not only have to proclaim the Good News of Christ (the Gospel) to those without Him, we must also bring new believers into the church through the initiatory ordinance of baptism and then, within that fellowship of believers, teach them to observe all that Christ has commanded so they can repeat the process themselves with others.

God has not left it up to us to develop a disciple-making strategy. He has recorded the basic principles of how He expects the process to work and it is found in three subordinate participles (“go,” “baptize,” and “teach”) that take on the force of imperatives because of their relationship to the central command Christ gave to “make disciples”!

The first step in this process of “making disciples” is that we must “go.” Actually, this could read, “as you are going,” such that the first step of the process of obeying “The Great Commission” is to incorporate disciple-making into every aspect of our daily lives. In other words – as you are going about your daily business – as you are going to school – as you are going to work – as you are going to the doctor – as you are going to buy groceries – as you are going to get gas – as you are going to visit relatives – as you are going on vacation – as you are going to the ball game – as you are going out to eat – as you are going wherever you are going - you are always going into your mission field.

At least in part, our mission field is right here in the everyday ordinary things of life where we live. If God has you in a distant land or in the Tri-State...that is your mission field. If He has you in an office or at a remote work site...you represent Christ to all those around you. We have to stop thinking of our witness for Christ as only being an extraordinary work that is accomplished in an extraordinary way. Sometimes we make people feel guilty if they aren’t doing something “exceptional” and extremely sacrificial in sharing the Gospel. The fact is that being a good neighbor to those that live around you, being a good employee in your company, treating your employees like you want to be treated yourself, living a Christ-honoring life right where you are right now, etc., are just some of the ways we “go” about “making disciples” as Christ commanded.  

Sadly, some have imposed a new form of legalism on the church today that is as deadly as the old forms of legalism that used to prevail among us. In their zeal to obey “The Great Commission,” they have decided that the only forms of evangelism/outreach that are acceptable or viable are the ones which are characterized by something radical and/or revolutionary that is done among people that need to know Jesus. They’ve coined a host of new spiritual-sounding buzz words to let everyone know that their particular form of evangelism/outreach is the most biblical, committed and pleasing to the Lord. Then they judge everyone around them as being less spiritual and less interested in reaching the lost simply because they don’t live up to the new “high-commitment” paradigm for reaching the masses.

The truth is...every one of us is to be an “incarnational evangelist” right where we live, work and play every day of our lives. That is...we are supposed to bring the reality of Christ through our own lives to the people with whom we already have connections so that they will see Jesus in us every single day. Granted, we also have to share the message of the Gospel itself with those same people, but they will most likely believe what they “see” in your life before they will listen to what you “tell” them about your life.

“The Great Commission” commands us to “make disciples” and that process begins with the people that live across the street and around the corner in your community. Until we see our own neighbors, friends, family and co-workers as our first mission field we have missed the very first aspect of what it means to obey the command to “go”!

We should note that our “going” is also to be to “all the nations.” The commission that was given to the disciples on that mountain in Galilee did not stop with their own local communities to the neglect of the rest of the world. They were to “make disciples” among every ethnic group (panta ta ethne) wherever they are found in the world.

We have to stop for a moment and think about the significance of Matthew recording this aspect of the command from Jesus to “make disciples.” Matthew’s Gospel is written primarily to convince the Jewish people that Jesus is their Messiah. The book is filled with Old Testament references that are shown to be fulfilled in Jesus Christ. His references to Jewish life that aren’t as familiar to us, were easily understood by the primary audience he was trying to reach. That’s what makes this aspect of “The Great Commission” so significant because he is telling the Jews reading this Gospel that Gentiles have been included in the salvation Jesus has made possible in His death, burial and resurrection. Matthew has recorded this command from Jesus at the end of his Gospel, explaining the far-reaching implications of what He has commanded them to do in “making disciples.”

Consequently, while it is true that we are all to be “missionaries” wherever we may live and do our work, some of us will be called out to be missionaries to ethnic groups located in the various countries of the world. Thankfully, God is still sending from among us the ones He wants to take His glorious Gospel to those we cannot necessarily reach ourselves. The question that has to be in the forefront of our minds is...are we listening for His call to this international disciple-making work? And, are we willing to answer that call should He issue it to us and/or encourage our children to answer His call to this same work? Though we are not all called to an ethnic group in another part of the world, don’t you think we also have an obligation to help those that have been called to “go” to “all the nations”?  The truth is, “The Great Commission” has not been fully obeyed by the church until every person in every generation and in every nation is given the opportunity to hear the Gospel so that they, too, may become faithful followers of Christ (i.e., disciples). There is much work to be done by us all...at home and abroad!

The second part of the command from Jesus to “make disciples” is to “baptize” those that have trusted in Jesus, which effectively brings them into fellowship with the church community where they can be nurtured and taught the ways of God.

Baptism is not an option that new believers may choose, but a command that every believer is to obey. It depicts the inner union believers have with Christ as having died to their old life and risen with Him to newness of life (Romans 6:1-10). It is a public declaration or confession of our personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and a pledge to follow Him as His disciple. The idea that a person would receive Christ as Savior and not be baptized, thus preventing him from participating in the full fellowship of the local church, was completely foreign to the early New Testament church.

David Platt, who is the president of the Southern Baptist Convention's International Mission Board, as well as a bestselling author, speaks accurately to the matter of the importance of the local church in disciple-making. He says, “When it comes to talking about making disciples, it’s not about individual followers of Jesus, on their own, lone rangers making disciples. It’s about being a part of a body and together making disciples. Those unbelievers need to see evidence of community around Christ. They need to see the love of Christ in action. They need to see the mercy of Christ in action. The church needs to become a picture that, especially for hardened hearts of unbelievers, softens their hearts towards the goodness of Christ in the community of faith. We don’t just walk in isolation. We walk in love and service to one another. We’re teaching the Word to each other and the Word is spreading through each other. All of that has to happen in the context of relationships with other people. And so disciple-making is intricately tied to commitment with a local church.”

The local church is God’s plan for making disciples that faithfully follow Christ. It’s in the loving environment of a church family where we best learn how to be His disciples. I read about one church that emphasized their strategy for making disciples with three very simple words. The article said their church existed to: “gather,” “grow” and “go.” That’s a pretty good description of how the church should function. We “gather” on Sundays with other believers to celebrate Jesus, encourage one another, serve one another, and be the family of God. We “grow” through the teaching and preaching of the Word of God in worship services and through connection to Life Groups where we interact, pray and are accountable to each other so that scripture is worked out in our lives through shared life experiences and circumstances with other believers. We “go” from these other settings to spread the Gospel and “as we are going,” we interact, befriend and practice being good neighbors and witnesses to those that need Jesus.

Leading people to Christ and leaving them without a church or in a church that doesn’t teach the truth is a failure to fulfill “The Great Commission”!

The last part of “The Great Commission” that tells us how to “make disciples,” has to do with “teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you.”  

Teaching people the truth of God is fundamental to the church’s role in fulfilling “The Great Commission.” We live in an entertainment culture that has relegated “teaching” (especially scripture) to a secondary role in the church.

• We too often gather for the Sunday performances that take place on the platform, rather than the truth that is proclaimed that can change our lives for the eternal good.
• We’ve developed such a short attention span that we now prefer soundbite sermons filled with self-help methodology, rather than the sound exposition of the scripture.
• We love to hear preachers/teachers talk about the scripture and tell us stories, but we don’t want to be bothered by any systematic instruction in doctrine or theology.
• We’re not grounded in the Word of truth and consequently, we are often blown about by every wind of doctrine (cf. Ephesians 4:14) that comes along.
• We’ve allowed the world to do more to change our churches internally than our churches have done to change the world externally.
• Our foundation for life is too often the shifting sand of pop psychology and positive thinking, rather than the solid rock of truth.
• Our worship gatherings sometimes feel more like a local high school pep rally than the people of God gathering for the worship of the holy God of Heaven!

And, all of this is because we have failed to “make disciples” who have been taught “to OBSERVE all things that I have commanded you.”

This teaching would include things like the marvelous discourses that Christ gave, the parables and the many precious sayings of Christ dealing with things like, ”abiding” in Him, “loving each other,” “bearing witness” of Him, “denying yourself,” “taking up your cross” and other similar truths. They were to teach about His predictions and His many promises and assurances that He gave to His followers. They were to instruct them about the cross, hypocrisy, proclaiming the Gospel, prayer, humility, trust, a forgiving spirit, marriage and the Law. They would explain about Christ’s healing work, His travels, His suffering, His death and resurrection, etc. They were to teach about all of these things and the implications of them on daily life.

In addition to all this, we have the rest of the New Testament encompassing His continued ministry, instructions and commands to His church. This is a lifetime endeavor and none of us ever mines all of the depths of all that God has given us in His Word.

In the original language of the New Testament, this command to “teach” is a present tense participle, meaning that this is to be a continuing task. (It also implies the continued willingness of the disciple to be taught.) Every new believer quickly realizes that there is much to be learned of doctrinal and ethical truth once you have come to Christ.

Let’s remember again, we aren’t instructed to just teach disciples “some” of what Jesus commanded, but we are to “teach” it “all.” In other words, as one scholar notes, “Nothing may be suppressed and nothing may be added, nothing may be watered down or given a new meaning.” (Wolfgang Thrilling, The Gospel according to St. Matthew [New York: Harper & Herder, 1969], 2:270)

What Christ desires is that Christian teaching so permeate our hearts and minds that we are controlled and molded by it in every aspect of our life and character. Apart from this kind of teaching we may have a crowd of people that are fans of Jesus, but too few that are truly His followers!

It is these three things that are the divinely given pattern for making disciples: “go,” “baptize” and “teach.”

Where are you in this process?

• As you go from here today you are entering the mission field where Christ wants you to “make disciples.”
• As you humbly live out your faith and share the Gospel story, you should be encouraging others to make the right decision to trust Jesus as their Savior.
• When a person makes the decision to receive Christ, you should bring them into the church through their public profession of faith in baptism and connect them to worship services and Life Groups where they can begin growing in grace.
• As they begin to understand their new found life in Christ, you should encourage them to reach out to others to continue the process of making more disciples of Christ.

The “Real” Last Words of Jesus (Grace)

John 21:1-23

Whether we like to acknowledge it or not, the fact is that we are all broken people and we all fail in our Christian lives, at times. Some people can hide their failures pretty effectively, but even the most adept among us at spiritual subterfuge still know within themselves the reality of their own shortcomings.

It’s precisely because of this aforementioned fact that we can never allow ourselves to look down on others while perched in a high branch of our own self-righteousness. Certainly, we don’t excuse the sinfulness of ourselves or others. However, we do humbly recognize that everybody struggles in similar ways to us in their journey of following Christ. And, we all need grace in those moments when we “blow it,” to help restore us to the pathway of righteousness and usefulness.

One of the most colossal failures ever recorded in history took place during the time of Jesus’ arrest and subsequent trials when Peter denied the Lord three times. What if you were Peter and your worst failures were written on the pages of scripture for all people of all time to read repeatedly? None of us would ever voluntarily expose ourselves to such scrutiny of our weaknesses. However, God used this Apostle’s spiritual collapse at a crucial moment in time to teach us an important lesson about God’s grace.

Few men in history have been as privileged as Peter, the apostle of Christ. From the beginning, when Jesus called His disciples to follow Him, Peter was first to respond (Luke 5:1-10; Matthew 4:18-21; Mark 1:16-20). If you remember the story, he, along with at least three others (Andrew, James & John), had been fishing all night with very little success. Jesus came to the shore of Galilee that next morning and a crowd of people gathered to hear Him teach. Seeing two boats, He got into the one belonging to Peter and asked him to push off from the shore so that He could teach the people more easily. Once Christ was finished speaking, He told Peter to launch out into the deep water so they could catch fish. Of course, Peter was reluctant (Luke 5:5) because they had already been out all night without any success. Nevertheless, Peter did as he was instructed, let down his net and caught so many fish that he could not handle them alone. Even though another boat came alongside to help him, both boats nearly sank under the enormous weight of fish that were caught that morning. Immediately, Peter bowed down to Jesus, calling Him Lord! When they finally got back to shore, Jesus called these men to follow Him with the promise that He would make them to become fishers of men. According to Matthew and Mark, It was Peter that was the first to be called to this new vocation (Matthew 4:18-21; Mark 1:16-20). It takes an incredible faith to leave your lifelong livelihood to follow Jesus...and Peter was just such a man!

His privilege didn’t end there, though! On another occasion, Jesus had fed five thousand with five loaves and two fish (Matthew 14:21-34). Afterwards, He sent the disciples on ahead of Him across the Sea of Galilee while He went away to pray. Between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m. that morning, the boat was in grave danger due to a sudden storm that had arisen on the sea. In those early morning hours, unable to make headway toward the shore, Jesus came walking to them on the water. The disciples were frightened at first, thinking that He was possibly a ghost. But, once they knew it was Him, Peter asked permission to do something that no one else had ever done or has ever been able to do since. He asked Jesus to invite him out onto the water with Him and Jesus agreed. Peter stepped over the side of the boat and for a time, walked on the water. When he became frightened by the raging storm around him, he began to sink and cried out for Jesus to save him...which He did. If it takes a great faith to leave your lifelong livelihood to follow Jesus, it takes an even greater act of faith to get out of a boat and walk on water.

On yet another occasion, Jesus was walking with His disciples near Caesarea Philippi when He asked the men a question about what people were saying about Him. He wanted to know, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” (Matthew 16:13-19) There were several answers that came from among them, but only Peter spoke up with the profound answer, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” In other words, Peter recognized that Jesus is God’s Own Son, both God and man! From that point he stopped being known as Simon and became known by his nickname, Peter.

Just consider Peter’s privilege thus far: he was the first to follow Jesus, the first to step out in faith to walk on water, and the first to understand the real Person of Christ!

There are other occasions mentioned in the Gospels that further our understanding of Peter’s privileged status with Christ. One of these was when Jesus took him, along with James and John, to the Mount of Transfiguration where He was transfigured before their very eyes. Mark, the Gospel writer, says that Jesus’ clothes shown “exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them.” For a few brief moments Peter (with James and John) was allowed to see the divine glory of Christ shining through the exterior of His earthly humanity.

Later, it was Peter, James and John again that were invited into the Garden of Gethsemane with Jesus when He prayed on the night He was arrested and taken away to be crucified. Though none of these three men could stay awake that evening, Peter was there with Jesus at that crucial moment in history, while redemption’s plan was beginning to unfold, to see and possibly hear Jesus pray.   

These stories and others like them draw a picture for us of a man that was on the inner circle of Jesus’ followers. Without question he was a leader among equals when it came to the twelve apostles. This is clearly seen in the fact that in the listing of these disciples his name always comes first. He was an impetuous man that rarely thought of consequences...only possibilities. His bold personality and faith were such that he was willing to attempt things that other men would never have even thought of trying. He was daring, sometimes brash, straight-talking and always brimming with self-confidence!

Maybe it was because of his high visibility and bold personality that God chose him as the final illustration in John's Gospel to show the outworking of God’s grace toward future failures among Christ-followers. It is true that by grace alone Peter had been chosen to be a follower of Jesus. But, most people would think that after his public denials of Christ that little else remained for him in the way of usefulness, except to return to his fishing trade to make a living and take care of his family. Surely, no future leadership capacity could ever be entrusted to a man that exhibited such disloyalty at the most critical time in the life of Jesus.

Let’s remember the scene on the night of Jesus’ betrayal by Judas. The disciples, with Jesus, had finished the Passover observance, during which time Christ had instituted the Lord’s Supper. As they were leaving the Upper Room, Jesus told them that all of them would stumble and be scattered because of what was about to happen to Him that night (Matthew 26:30-35). Peter strongly objected to Jesus’ revelation and declared that even if all the others abandoned Him that he would never be guilty of such disloyalty. Jesus responded to him by explaining that by the time the rooster crowed the next morning, he would have denied Him three times. Again, with strong emotion, Peter declared that if he had to die with Christ he would never deny Christ. When Jesus was arrested later that night it was Peter that tried to defend Him at first by wielding his sword and cutting off the ear of the High Priest’s servant (John 18:10). Jesus, however, had him put away his sword, healed the ear of the servant, and then allowed Himself to be led away to six unjust trials that ultimately led to His crucifixion/resurrection.

At first, all the disciples forsook Him. Peter and John, however, apparently reconsidered their decisions and tried to get as close as possible to the unfolding Jewish trials that night by gaining access to the High Priest’s courtyard. Peter’s first denial came as he was given entrance into the courtyard of the High Priest’s house where Jesus was being held (John 18:15-17). Once inside, he stood there warming himself by the charcoal fire with the others, which led to being asked two more times about his association with Jesus. Again, both times Peter further denied having any relationship to Jesus...the last time with cursing and swearing (Mark 14:71). While he was speaking his last denial the rooster crowed (Luke 22:60), just as Jesus had predicted. Luke says that at his third denial, Jesus “turned and looked at Peter” (Luke 22:61), who then “went out and wept bitterly” (Luke 22:60-62).

I can’t even imagine the depth of his guilt and shame after doing what he had so pompously said he would NEVER do...deny Him!  And did you notice, even though Peter had left his nets and boat, walked on water, declared that Jesus was the Son of God, been on the inner circle of the disciples...he had never forgotten how to “cuss” and swear like a sailor?

The agony of those ensuing hours as Jesus was tried, crucified and later buried in a tomb, must have been almost unbearable for him to endure. What purpose did his life have now? How could he ever show his face in public again? Who would ever trust a man like him? How could such a proud man be humbled so low?

All of this is what makes the story in John 21:1-23 so incredibly beautiful because it provides the background of dark hues against which the bright colors of God's grace are so vibrantly contrasted!

I think most of us would have probably forgotten Peter and left him in his miserable shame, if we had been treated as Jesus was treated. Few of us would desire to extend grace or forgiveness to such a man that had proven so publicly disloyal.  Besides, now that Christ had risen from the grave and proven to be all that He claimed to be, why would He ever desire Peter's services again? It must have seemed as if his shame could never be wiped away!

However, God is a God of grace and He desired to write a different ending to the story of Peter's life than the one we read at the moment of his colossal spiritual failure in the courtyard of the High Priest.

After Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the risen Christ instructed His disciples (including Peter) to meet Him in Galilee. Because the men didn’t know exactly when Jesus would arrive, they decided to go back to doing what they knew best: fishing.

It was after another night of catching nothing that they noticed someone on the shore of Galilee early that morning Who was cooking a breakfast meal. When the Man on the shore called out to them, He told them to cast their nets on the other side of their boat and they would be filled with fish. They did as they were instructed and could not draw in the net because of the multitude of fish they had caught. Immediately, John recognized that it was Jesus on the shore. The ever impetuous Peter quickly pulled his outer coat around him and jumped into the water to swim to Jesus. The others soon got the boat and nets, full of fish, to shore where Peter helped them to count their number (153).

After breakfast that morning, the story narrows to focus on a conversation that Jesus had with Peter in the presence of the other disciples. It involved a repeated question that Jesus asked him that must have been as painful to experience as having open-heart surgery without anesthesia.

Standing near another charcoal fire that morning, Peter heard Jesus ask him the same  penetrating question three times, “Do you love me?” Each time he responded by saying, “You know that I love You.” Some people make much of the different Greek words Jesus/Peter used for “love” in asking and answering the questions. There may be some importance to those nuanced meanings, but for our purposes, we simply need to see what Jesus was doing by asking these questions that day.

For each of the three times Peter publicly denied the Lord, Jesus asked him publicly if he loved Him. On this occasion, Peter was not his usual self-confident, straight-talking personality, because now he better realized his own fallibility. Instead of declaring his “love” outright, as he might have done before his colossal failure, he simply deferred to the omniscience of the Lord Who knew his heart better than he knew it himself. With each of the questions and answers, God in His grace was restoring Peter and re-commissioning him to useful service to Christ. In other words, the man that most everybody else would have written off...Jesus sought to restore!

This reminds us of a powerful scripture in the writings of Paul about the greatness of God’s grace:

"Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more..." (‭Romans‬ ‭5‬:‭20‬ NKJV)

Peter's failure and restoration serve as a perpetual reminder that God's grace is greater than any sin or failure that has ever happened in our lives! What we learn from this scene is that when we find ourselves cut down by our own shortcomings, the grace of God is always there to catch us, forgive us, and restore us to future usefulness. Grace should never be used as an excuse to go on living in sin or for overlooking our failures, but it is a safety net that lets us serve and live with a sense of eternal security!

Joseph B. Strauss was the lead engineer in the building of the Golden Gate Bridge. As part of some of his innovative safety efforts he had a large net constructed at considerable cost that was placed beneath the floor of the bridge to catch men that accidentally fell or were blown off the bridge while working on it. There were nineteen men whose lives were saved by the net and it allowed the workers to move more quickly due to the security they felt having the net present.

If you can think of the grace of God as a “safety net” of sorts, you can get a picture of how God’s grace truly operates. No matter how far you may fall, His “safety net” is always there to catch you. This doesn’t mean we can live our lives with wreckless abandon or careless concern, but it means that when we fall we are not abandoned to our own demise. Lovingly, patiently, graciously, God is there to catch us and work for our restoration that we might bring Him glory and find greater usefulness in His service.

There are a few things to remember as you consider what Jesus said to Peter on the shore of Galilee following His resurrection.

1. No one is perfect...everyone fails.

None of us are immuned to letting Jesus down...not even the people that were closest to Him during His earthly ministry. Peter saw all the miracles of Jesus. He was there to hear Him teach. He saw His power and His compassion on many occasions. He was even on the inner circle of the followers of Jesus...but he denied Him three times publicly...with cursing and swearing!

Despite what we think of ourselves or what we think of the believers around us, we are all just human. There are none of us that are perfect and we all fail Christ at times.

Maybe the thing for us to realize is that continuing to beat ourselves up for our failures doesn’t do anything to aid our restoration. What we must do is cast ourselves on the grace of God and seek His forgiveness...the One Who is the giver of life and forgiveness.

Neither does beating others up when they fail reflect the spirit of Christ or the grace of Christ that has been shown to us in our failures.

2. Jesus is still your Friend, even when you fail Him.

Peter had denied Christ in the most egregious way and yet, Jesus enjoyed watching him catch fish that early morning. He cooked breakfast for him and invited him to a morning meal with Him.

The same goes for each of us when we fail Him. The Savior that died for you still loves you. You have been caught in the “safety net” of His grace, no matter the height from which you have fallen. He still wants to have fellowship with you and restore you to usefulness for Him.

3. Sin has consequences you cannot simply excuse.

Often the consequences of our sin go beyond ourselves and affect people around us and/or dear to us. Even more importantly, sin creates a wound in our relationship with Christ that can only be healed through His gracious forgiveness. Peter had to be dealt with about what had happened so that he could move on. Not until you confront your failure and confess it, will you ever be able to move past it.

Your greatest need after a fall is to seek God’s cleansing for your spiritual collapse. And, if our fall has affected others, to seek their forgiveness, as well.

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)

4. Jesus still has a purpose and a mission for your life.

No failure has been more read or analyzed than Peter’s denial of the Lord. But, with Christ’s gracious reinstatement of him, he was also given a three-part affirmation: “Feed my sheep.”

Peter was still valuable to Christ’s cause and still would become a great leader in the days ahead in spite of his colossal failure.

If you don’t think this is so, just fast forward a number of days and see 120 followers of Jesus waiting and praying in a room in Jerusalem. When the day of Pentecost arrives, these disciples of Christ were powerfully indwelt and filled by the Holy Spirit.

When Peter stands up to preach that morning in Jerusalem, he declares Jesus to be the Messiah, Who had been crucified, buried, raised and now, ascended back to the Father. When he finished his sermon there were 3,000 people that responded to be saved and baptized.

The man that three times denied Jesus was the very first person to declare Him to the masses in Jerusalem.

Now, for all time, Peter stands as a testimony to the amazing grace of God that never gives up on His children...no matter how far they have fallen. And, because of God’s grace...failure is never really final, unless you want it to be!

It’s time for you to get up, get right and get moving again to fulfill the purpose Christ has for you to accomplish!

The “Real” Last Words of Jesus (Hope)

Luke 24:13-33

Have you ever noticed that the words describing some of the greatest difficulties we face in life begin with the letter “D”? For instance: disappointment, doubt, disillusionment, defeat, discouragement, despondency, depression, despair, death, etc.

All of these words describe emotions or experiences that strike at the very core of our beings and at the most basic thing it takes to live life with purpose and meaning. Each of them (alone or together) drains us little by little of the hope we need to deal with life and face tomorrow. And, when hope is fully depleted we begin to die...inside and out.

Stop and consider the number of people that take their own lives because every bit of hope has been drained from them by one (or several) of these emotions. These people are left to feel as if their person is nothing more than an empty shell. Or, think about the ones that are overtaken by a serious illness that they’ve battled for a very long period of time until they find themselves virtually drained of all hope of ever recovering. As doubt and disillusionment set in, it becomes increasingly more difficult to ever hope again. People in these types of situations begin avoiding anything that might offer even a measure of hope because they can’t bear the thought of another disappointing let down.

If you’ve ever wrestled with any of these dreaded “D” words, then you also know something about how the disciples of Jesus felt after His crucifixion.

Did you know that the twelve disciples, also called apostles, were not the only ones that followed Jesus during His earthly ministry? Actually, there were times when others followed Jesus, both men and women, in addition to the twelve He specifically called to Himself.

Luke tell us about two of these “other” disciples at the close of His Gospel record. He only names one of them (Cleopas) and leaves us to wonder who the other might have been. Several scholars have surmised as to the identity of this other person, but we’ll leave that  discussion for another time. What is important to know is that both of these disciples on the morning of Jesus’ resurrection did not know that He was alive and both of them were filled with deep emotions of disappointment, disillusionment, defeat and despair.

Remember, on the Sunday of Jesus’ resurrection, Mary Magdalene, along with Mary, the wife of Cleopas, set out very early in the morning (Matthew 28:1; Luke 24:1), accompanied by Cleopas. They probably first visited John’s house in Jerusalem where Cleopas remained while the women went on to Jesus’ tomb to finish the burial preparations. They were joined by at least three other women as they made their way to the garden where Jesus had been lain. As they walked toward the garden tomb the women discussed among themselves how they were going to remove the stone (Mark 16:3) in order to gain access to Jesus’ body.

As they entered the garden area where Jesus’ tomb was located, they "looked up" and immediately recognized that the enormous stone had already been rolled away (Mark 16:4). Mary Magdalene turned around and ran back to the city in panic to tell Peter and John that someone had taken the body of Jesus (John 20:2). The other women continued on to the tomb and upon entering, saw two angels, one of which spoke to them and commissioned them to return to the disciples with a special message (Matthew 28:7; Mark 16:7).

When Mary Magdalene arrived back in Jerusalem, where Peter and John were staying, she told them that the body of Jesus had been taken and she did not know where they had laid Him (John 20:2). Peter and John began a foot race to the tomb to see for themselves what had happened (John 20:4), followed by Mary Magdalene.

After Peter and John had returned from seeing the empty grave, the other women that had gone to the tomb earlier with Mary Magdalene reported to them that an angel had told them that Jesus was not there and that He had risen...though they had not yet seen Him for themselves.

It is sometime after the report of these women and before Peter had his own encounter with the risen Christ that two lesser known disciples of Jesus (one of them being Cleopas) set off on the road to Emmaus. As they were making their way on this approximately seven mile journey, the two men were conversing (Luke 24:17) with each other about the events of the previous three days. Actually, Dr. Kenneth Wuest indicates that it was more like an “animated, heated conversation” that they were having together. It’s conceivable to imagine that others might have been watching or even overheard them as they continued this demonstrable discussion.

Somewhere shortly after they left for Emmaus they were joined by someone that was yet a “Stranger” (Luke 24:16) to them. As they journey together He questioned them about what they were discussing. The two disciples were shocked that anyone could have been in or around Jerusalem and not heard about the crucifixion of Jesus. As they explained to this “Stranger” what had happened in Jerusalem, they revealed the depth of their emotions that they and the other followers of Jesus were experiencing at the time (Luke 24:21).

The followers of Jesus had hoped that He was going to be the One to throw off their Roman oppression and establish the promised Jewish Kingdom in Jerusalem (Luke 24:19-20). Now that He was dead and it was the third day, all hope had been lost for them and their cause (24:21). They were both dejected, disappointed, deeply discouraged and all the other disciples were in hiding, feeling the same way. At one time they held out great hope for the future, but now it had all come crashing down around them. What once was a dream come true had turned into nothing more than a terrible nightmare for them all (because they did not yet believe that Christ had been raised).

Can you identify at all with the emotions these disciples were feeling as they walked along the road to Emmaus? As a result of Jesus’ crucifixion, all of the followers of Jesus were dealing with the dreaded “D” words: disappointment, doubt, disillusionment, defeat, discouragement, despondency, depression, despair, death, etc. And, yet, this was going to be the most significant walk these two disciples would ever take because the “Stranger” walking with them was none other than the resurrected Christ Himself...though they did not yet recognize Him.

These three men walking on the road to Emmaus provide us a beautiful picture that we all need to grasp so that our hearts and minds will be strengthened when we find ourselves surrounded by the dreaded “D” words. Can you see the significance of being told that these two disciples did not make their journey alone?

The fact is...even when your world gets turned upside down and the road you are travelling is one of discouragement, disappointment and disillusionment, you never walk that path alone because the living Christ always walks with us, even if we don’t fully recognize His presence.

There’s another NT story that also illustrates this principle and it comes from the life of the Apostle Paul. It’s found in 2 Timothy 4:16-17 when Paul is nearing the time of his martyrdom in Rome. He writes...

“At my first defense no one stood with me, but all forsook me. May it not be charged against them. But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that the message might be preached fully through me, and that all the Gentiles might hear. Also I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.”

The custom under Roman law was to allow an accused prisoner to have witnesses speak on his behalf during a preliminary hearing that preceded the trial. However, Paul said no one stood with him or was willing to speak on his behalf, which apparently included none of his companions, nor any of the Christians in Rome. Can you imagine a more difficult experience or a more lonely time for the Apostle Paul? Facing imminent death and NO ONE was willing to help him or speak on his behalf.

The reason for this reticence was likely because Nero had significantly raised the intensity of persecution against Christians in Rome. When Rome burned in July of A.D. 64, Nero blamed the Christians and consequently, they became his scapegoats for punishment. As a result, believers were afraid to be identified with this outspoken messenger of God, lest they die with him.

However, even though other believers weren’t willing to stand with him, Paul could still declare that he wasn’t standing alone! There was One that nobody else could see, but by the eyes of faith Paul saw: the scripture says, “the Lord stood with him.” That’s the promise that all believers have in Christ and it’s because we serve a risen Savior!!

Even if we don’t recognize Him at first glance the fact remains that He is still there walking alongside us on this sometimes difficult journey of life. Listen to Hebrews 13:5-6…

“...For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ So we may boldly say: ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?’”

Just before Jesus went to the cross, He told His disciples that He was going to leave them, but He wasn’t going to leave them as “orphans.” In other words, after His resurrection, Jesus wanted them to understand that when He ascended back to the Father to intercede on their behalf as their Advocate, the Father was going to send in His stead the Holy Spirit to be our Helper and Guide in life.

“And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.” (John 14:16-18)

“Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.” (John 16:7)

God is with us no matter what emotions we may feel or what life may throw at us. He abides within all the children of God. God’s promise is that we will never be alone no matter how dark and lonely the road we are travelling.

Start looking around you...He is there even if you haven’t recognized Him yet! If we are willing...we can even hear His voice speaking to us! When disillusionment, depression and defeat dominate our lives, never forget, Jesus walks this road with us just as He walked with the two on the road to Emmaus.

After hearing the disciples explain the reason for their sad despondency, the “Stranger” that had joined them on their journey began to open the scriptures to them. This is a Bible lesson I know all of us would have loved to hear!! It was a Bible conference unlike anything that has ever been given.

Their yet unrecognized “Stranger” travelling with them began in Genesis and took them through the Law, Prophets and Psalms to show them that their promised Messiah had to also suffer and die, not just conquer and rule. Most Jews of that day were looking for a triumphant Redeemer, not a suffering Servant. As Dr. Warren Wiersbe says, “As they (the Jewish people) read the Old Testament, they saw the glory but not the suffering, the crown but not the cross.”

This was the best lesson ever given from the Old testament as the two Emmaus travellers were reminded how sin came into the world through the disobedience of Adam and Eve, and how the prophets foreshadowed a Saviour who would be obedient even to the point of death. He may have reminded them of Abraham - how he almost sacrificed his son - and how the heavenly Father did sacrifice his Son for the sin of all people. No doubt, he would have referred to Isaiah’s description of the Suffering Servant of God who "was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities" (Isaiah 53:5). It’s not that these men did not know these passages, but that their understanding had been clouded by the idea that the Messiah would come instead with glory and power and rain down fire on their enemies.

The two-hour walk to Emmaus must have seemed like five minutes to them. The two disciples could feel the despondency and sorrow in their hearts changing into understanding and hope as the "Stranger" explained that Jesus’ death was a part of God's great plan of salvation.

Whenever we are surrounded by the dreaded “D” words that cloud our hearts and minds with hopelessness, fear and despair, it should always motivate us to open God’s Word where we can hear again that we are His dearly loved children and that He will be with us no matter the darkness of the hour we face.

Don’t neglect the scripture when your heart is aching within you. It’s there that we find God’s promises and direction when we don’t know if we can take the next step in our journey. It’s there that we are pointed back to the ultimate reason for our hope: the risen Christ that has conquered all for us...that we might be conquerors through Him. That same power that raised up Jesus is the same power that dwells in every child of God and gives hope when everything else seems hopeless (Romans 8:11).

We mustn’t forget that, “faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.” (Romans 10:17)

I have visited with so many people over the years that were suffering in various ways and yet still had hope. Recently, I was talking with a man that is nearing Heaven and he said to me that live or die, he was going home. Like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, I found him comforted by his Saviour. Even though there were times when he was sad and depressed, he encouraged himself in the Lord by acknowledging that he wasn’t walking this pathway alone (cf. Psalm 23). Christ gave him hope for the future; a hope that only the risen Saviour could give him. Thank God, He’ll give that same hope to each of us!

When the three men finally arrived at Emmaus it was late in the day and the two disciples prevailed upon their “Stranger” to have a meal with them and stay the night in the city. During the meal that evening, the “Stranger” "took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them." Suddenly it dawned on them who the Stranger was (Luke 24:31). It was their Master raised from the dead.

Jesus himself had ministered to them in their sadness when they were surrounded by the dreaded “D” words. Now they knew why a change of heart had come over them as they walked along the road listening to Him. They now knew why their despondency had turned into hope and renewed faith as they listened to Him expound upon the scriptures. Jesus had open their eyes and revealed himself to them in His Word (Luke 24:32) and through the breaking of bread (reminiscent of the feeding miracles and the Last Supper - Luke 9:16; 22:19; Mark 8:6).

Though their world had been falling apart it had suddenly come together again and the fog of confusion that surrounded them had cleared. Even though the "Stranger" vanished from their sight the moment He revealed Himself to them, He has not really gone; He is still visible to those who have the eyes of faith to see Him.

Following Jesus’ departure these disciples went quickly back to the other disciples in Jerusalem to tell them they had seen the risen Christ. It may have only taken them half the time or less to get back to share the good news. There hearts were obviously filled with joy and excitement! If their conversation coming from Jerusalem was “animated” and “heated,” I imagine their conversation on the return trip to Jerusalem was just as “animated” and “heated,” for a different reason. This time it was probably because they were debating who was going to tell the story first!

Someone has said, “Their lives prior to this moment were like a smouldering fire that gives no light, just smoke to cloud things up. But once they came into the presence of the Risen Lord their hearts were ablaze! A burning fire gives light for all to see, and they saw, understood and believed! All because of the Risen Lord! Jesus’ victory became their restoring hope. It became the anchor of their lives"

If the dreaded “D” words have encompassed you on your “road to Emmaus,” remember...you are not alone and He’s waiting to speak to you through His Word.

Because Jesus is alive...there is always reason for us to have hope!