Tag: Matthew 28

Cling to His Crucial Assurance

On By BrianIn PASSION ReflectionsLeave a comment

And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.
(Matthew 28:20b, ESV)

The Exciting Assurance

Jesus is with us always!  All the time.  All the days.  The whole of every day.  He is with us in the good days and the bad days and the so-so days.  He is with us in the trials and the blessings.  He is with us all the time and everywhere.  Jesus is always with us.

Which means, by the way, that Jesus is God.  No one else can be omnipresent.  No one else could be everywhere, with each of us all the time.  Jesus, fully God and fully man, is with us always.

And He is with us to the end of age, or the consummation of the age.  He is with us until He returns and brings forth the glorious new heaven and earth.  Until that exciting day we have this exciting assurance that Jesus is with us always.

The Encouraging Assurance

No matter what we face in life, Jesus is always with us.

No matter what we face as we carry out the Great Commission, the One with all authority is always with us.

We don’t have to face life alone, and we don’t do the Great Commission alone.  Jesus is always with us.

Be encouraged that Jesus is with you this week in your trials and struggles, at work, at home, and on road.

Be encouraged that Jesus is with you as you go and talk about Jesus, as you point people to Jesus, as you seek to obey Him.

He will never leave you nor forsake you.  He is always with you, always right there with you – be encouraged!

Fear and Great Joy

On By BrianIn PASSION Reflections

So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples.
(Matthw 28:8, ESV)

How should we respond to the resurrection of Jesus? The women who first visited the tomb suggest two ways:

First, fear! The woman departed quickly with fear. The soldiers earlier trembled with fear and became as dead men (v4). Fear was a common response to events of resurrection of Jesus. Here indeed is a fearful thing! An angel moves the stone to show an empty tomb and announces the resurrection. This is not the way the guards or the women expected that morning to go. It was just another assignment for the guards, just a visit to the tomb for the women, and suddenly it all goes sideways. Like if you went to a funeral, and the person in the casket suddenly got up and said “hello” and walked out. You would be afraid! Fear was a natural response to a fearful event. Our problem is that it is not our response. We don’t fear. The angel and Jesus both tell the women not to be afraid (v5, 10), but we do not need those words because we are not afraid. It has all become so familiar that we have lost sight of how earth-shattering, mind-boggling, crazy this is. The awesome power of God beyond anything we can imagine on display as He raised Jesus from dead naturally leads to fear!

Second, rejoice! The women departed with great joy! This Jesus whom they had followed, whom they had seen crucified and buried, was alive again! Imagine a beloved parent or child or sibling who has passed away suddenly alive again, and you begin to understand some of their joy. Do you love Jesus? Then His resurrection should bring you great joy! On top of that are the ramifications of His resurrection. Our sins defeated – the punishment paid, our shame and guilt removed. And death defeated – the hope of our own resurrection and the resurrection of those who have died in Christ. Here are reasons for great joy – so rejoice!