Senior Sunday

SUMMARY

In this sermon, Karl Ihfe delves into Matthew 28:16-20, examining Jesus' appearance to his disciples on a mountain and the Great Commission. He highlights the disciples' mixed reaction of worship and doubt, drawing a parallel to Peter's experience of walking on water (Matthew 14:28-31). Ihfe emphasizes Jesus' authority over all things and His plan to use the church to spread His kingdom.

The speaker challenges the notion of following Jesus without the church, stressing that Jesus' plan involves His followers working together to make disciples. He encourages graduates and all believers to see their roles in life as opportunities to bring God's kingdom to earth. Ihfe concludes by reminding the congregation of their legacy in the faith and urging them to courageously live out the Great Commission in their daily lives.

TRANSCRIPTION:

Well, if you have your Bible, invite you to turn over to Matthew chapter 28. We'll be there today in our time together, Brian and I were thinking about and talking about this morning and thinking of all the different aspects of our church life that are coming together as we're sending forth and launching our graduates into the world. And we're also thinking about how God is launching us into the world through missions. This passage keeps coming up. In fact, if you've been around Broadway much, you've heard me preach on this very passage a few times, in fact, four or five times since I've been here.

So some of what I may say this morning may sound a little familiar to you. I hope it is. And I hope also, though, that God takes it and shapes it into a way that would inspire and encourage us to think about the power of a life lived on mission. Here in Matthew 28, we find Jesus on a mountain. If you've read much of Matthew's Gospel, you know a lot of things happen on mountains.

In Matthew's Gospel, we learn from the beginning the temptations where Jesus is out in the wilderness, that the devil comes and tempts him on the side of a mountain. We know his most famous sermon, the greatest sermon ever was preached on a mountain. The Transfiguration, when Jesus is revealed to a few of his disciples who he really is and Moses and Elijah are there. That happens on a mountain. Or maybe you remember that final discourse right before he is arrested and taken off to be crucified that happened in the Mount of Olives on a mountain.

Or today we find ourselves here again with Jesus on a mountain. And so he appears to his disciples. And Matthew tells us these words that Donald Redfer. Just a moment ago, the 11 went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. And when they saw him, they worshiped him.

But some doubted it. Now, again, if you've heard me preach on this passage before, this is one of my favorite passages, and this is actually one of my favorite sections of text, because it's strange and mysterious and wonderful all at the same time. Have you ever wondered, why does Matthew give us this little detail? They worshiped him. And some doubted.

What a strange thing to see. And not only is that strange, but it's strange that Jesus doesn't go, okay, time. Time out, you doubters. Take a hike. I mean, after all we've been through, after everything you've seen your dad just take off.

He doesn't do that. In fact, have you ever wondered what were they Doubting Jesus is right there. They could see him literally, and yet they doubt it. I've wondered about that. It made me think of the story back in Matthew 15.

You may remember this story. It's right after Jesus has fed the 5,000. And he sends the disciples off to the other side. It's the end of the day. And he sends the disciples off in a boat, says, I'll catch up with you later.

And he goes up to pray. And where does he go to pray? On a mountain. This is Matthew. So he spends the night in prayer.

And early in the morning, as he finishes, he coming down off the mountain, and he looks out on the water and he sees the disciples. And they're wrestling the boat against the waves that's lashing up against the boat. And so Jesus walks out on the water, out to the disciples. And of course, they're terrified. They're freaked out.

They don't know what's going. They think it's a ghost, we're told. And so Jesus calms them by saying, hey, it's me. It's me. And Peter says this, lord, if it's you, tell me to come out to you on the water.

Now, again, think about that for a moment. Peter says, if it's you, tell me to come to you. Is that what you would have said if you were on that boat watching this figure walk out to you? I think it's a pretty amazing question or statement to make. And so Jesus responds, come.

And so Peter gets down out of the boat, he walks on the water, and he comes to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and beginning to sink, cried out, lord, save me. And immediately, Jesus reaches out his hand and he catches him. O, you have little faith. Jesus said, why did you doubt?

Same word, why did you doubt? So the question is, what did Peter doubt? What was Peter doubting? Right. Jesus was standing on the water.

You see, I grew up thinking Peter was doubting Jesus, right? If it's you, Lord, tell me to come. And Jesus says, okay, come. And so Peter walks right out on the water, and yet he sees the wind, he sees the waves, he hears the noise, and he starts sinking. And Jesus says, why are you doubting?

Well, he's not doubting Jesus. Jesus is standing just fine on the water. Matthew doesn't say, well, he started slipping down to his ankle. No, no, no. He's standing there.

Peter didn't doubt Jesus. Peter doubted Peter.

Can I really do this? Is it possible for me to walk on the water? Jesus, is it possible? Jesus gave the command, come. He empowered him.

You can do this. Lord, if you're there for me, would you call me out to you? Would you empower me? Would you equip me? Would you send me?

And Jesus says, of course. Come. But Peter doubts, he doubts himself, which I think is a tremendous challenge for us as well, isn't it? I mean, some of you seniors may be sitting here wondering, what am I going to do with my life? Even Brian said we're still in the decision making process.

What's that going to look like? Jesus, could you have a plan for my life? Would you call me out into this world that sometimes feels like that water that the disciples were riding on that day, where there's turmoil and there's trouble and there's noise and there's wind and there's rain. And Jesus says, come, that you too are going to be tempted just like Peter was, to doubt yourself, to doubt that God really has equipped you. The beautiful thing is Jesus doesn't say, well, sorry, Peter, Blub Blub Blub.

Bl bl. He reaches out and he helps him stand and he walks him back to the boat. I love the courage that it took for Peter to take a risk, to step out in faith. And I also can identify with that failure of nerve sometimes when we're called out to do a bold thing in the name of Jesus, to wonder, could God really work in and through me? And I love how Jesus just continues to restore.

Peter. Yes, Peter, even you. It's amazing. Matthew says the majority of the disciples, when Jesus appeared on that mountain, they worshiped. And that's the right response.

In fact, when you see people running up and encountering Jesus and recognizing who he really is, what you find is this response, worship. The same word is actually used in all of these different stories in Matthew's Gospel. Whether it's In Matthew chapter 8, after the great Sermon, Jesus is walking down the road and a leper comes to him and he kneels before him. But that's the word that he worships. Or maybe in chapter nine, that synagogue leader, you may remember the story where his daughter is sick and he kneels, he worships in that position of worship right before Jesus.

Or maybe you remember the story of the Canaanite woman whose daughter is also sick, and they have this fabulous, strange, mysterious conversation about crumbs and dogs and who gets in and who doesn't and she worships him. Even the weird story of James and John's mom, you remember that story where she comes to Jesus and asks about the Right hand and the left hand. She does so how? In a position of worship. And see, whenever anyone counters Jesus, the right response is worship.

So Matthew affirms that here in chapter 28, to those who were caught in the middle of faith and doubt, who are wondering, Jesus, could you do something in and through me? Jesus is there place for me in your kingdom? Jesus says, okay, you doubters, you worshippers, you faithful, you struggling with faith, you go and you make disciples. I love how Jesus reminds them all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Now, again, if you're familiar with Matthew's gospel, those words will sound a little familiar.

In fact, Matthew is kind of bringing us a full circle moment. Back in chapter four, again, on a mountain, Jesus is approached by the devil. And he's tempted. And you remember one of his temptations.

Look around. Everything you see, that's yours. I'll give you authority. All you have to do is worship me. Jesus sees through the scheme.

He knows that obtaining authority in that way, it's empty, it's hollow at best, it's tyrannical at worst. Instead, Jesus will not. He will not acquiesce. He won't obtain that authority at a lesser cost than what he just paid on the cross. You see Jesus authority as the risen one is the authority of the one who conquered death, of the one who defeated evil, of the one who overcame.

And it's the kind of authority under which life, life that God intended from the very beginning can flourish. That's the kind of authority that Jesus brings. I mean, this is one of the basic foundational truths, one of our core beliefs here at Broadway and of the Christian church, one of the truths that we've learned about, even all through our series, through Hebrews, this last time, this last series, we did remember, the preacher says in chapter two, in putting everything under Jesus, God left nothing that is not subject to him. Right? In chapter one, he says, everything that's been made was made by and through him.

Nothing is not subject to him. And yet we recognize, as the Hebrew preacher did and hear, as Matthew does, that when we look at the world around us, it doesn't always feel like Jesus is in charge. It doesn't always seem like his authority is over everything, everywhere. In fact, the Hebrew preacher said it well. Yet at present, we do not see everything subject to him, or we don't see it, but we do see Jesus, he says.

And so Matthew, like the Hebrew preacher, is it helping us understand what's really going on? You see, Jesus claim here in Matthew's claim rather about Jesus. It's not that the world is already the way that Jesus wants it to be or intends it to be. Rather, it's Jesus is working to take it from where it was under the dominion of evil and death and darkness of all kinds and moving it to where it should be under the control of Jesus. Life, giving, love.

That's the claim, that's what we believe. And how is Jesus going to accomplish this? Now here's the crazy thing. How is Jesus going to accomplish his mission? May your kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.

And Jesus says, the way I'm going to accomplish that is through you is through me, his people, the church, those first disciples, those first ones who chose to follow him, and then the disciples who came after that, and then the disciples after that, and after that, all the way up until our day to us and to disciples who will follow us. You see Jesus project and plan, it goes forward, it moves forward into the world. And so far as his disciples act on his behalf and move on his behalf, what's his plan? Well, listen again to what he tells those disciples. Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything I've commanded you and surely I'm with you always to the very end of the age.

And I love how Jesus, even in the midst of their faith and their doubt, their struggles, their doubt sometimes in Jesus, but probably more likely with us as well in ourselves, they're doubt to really see that God could use them, that God could take a young person and actually use them to impact the kingdom, that God could take an old person, actually use them to impact the kingdom of God. He says, you doubt as you go and you make disciples and it's going toa look like something. And he points to a couple of specific things. He says, number one, do you baptize them in the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit? Now if you've been around churcher Christ much, you know that's a big word for us, Baptism.

That's a big deal. Why? Because it's this public, this witness to who God is and to who we are trying to be striving to be. But not only that, he says, I want you to teach them everything I'm commanded. I want you to show them the life that's truly life, help them to understand it and then begin to live it out in the world.

That's his plan, to bring his kingdom on Earth as it is in heaven. And he wants to use his church to do it.

And once again we come to this reality check, don't we? Have you ever experienced the church not being God's answer, not fulfilling their role in the world? Have you ever heard about Christians not being very Christian? Have you ever seen that? I hope not.

Certainly that's never happened here at Broadway. But you could maybe imagine how there have been times in our past when the church has not been the church. The church hasn't done things the way that Jesus would want them to. We fumbled the ball any in various ways. In fact, many believers have begun to wonder, could this really be the plan?

I mean, is the church really the plan? And so kind of their thought is, well, I'm just going to, I like Jesus but not the church. So church, y'all kind of do your thing, but I'm going to stand back over here and just wait till Jesus returns. There's only one problem with that. That's not the plan.

That was not Jesus plan. That was not Matthew's plan. That's not the New Testament writer's plan. If you read through the Gospels, it doesn't match up the great commission that Jesus has just given to his people. It doesn't match up the life of the early church in Acts.

It doesn't match up with Paul's vision and his reality. I mean, if there was ever a moment in the history of the church where Jesus could have said alri right? No. Ok, hit the road. No, no, no, we not you get out of here.

Wouldn't it be like the first disciples, the ones who said, like Peter, Jesus, it doesn't matter what happens, I will ll never forsake you. And Jesus goes, dude, just give it like 12 hours and you're going to deny me three times? Oh, never. And what happens? He does.

Every one of his earliest disciples betrayed him. They left them all alone. I mean, if there was ever a moment where Jesus could have said, let's hit reset, let's start this process over, let's do it again. I could have been with Peter and Paul. And yet that's not what he does.

In fact, in his great commission, when he's standing there, given this incredible charge and this reminder to his first followers and some worshipped and some doubted, he doesn't run him off. He says, you go, you keep going. And on the way, as you continue to proclaim the gospel and you try to wrestle with what I've said and what it looks like to actually live it out in the world that you'll find that peace and that hope and that joy that you're looking for. NT Wright says that, this is one of my favorite quotes, he says those who believe in Jesus, who are witnesses to his resurrection, they are given the responsibility to go and make real in the world the authority which he already has.

This, after all, is part of the answer to the prayer that God's kingdom will come on earth as it is in heaven. So church, if we pray that prayer, we shouldn't be surprised if we are called upon to to help bring about God's answer to it. You see, one of our core beliefs is that Jesus is sovereign over everything, that he is in charge. And even in those moments when it looks like he is not in charge, what we're holding on to this hope is that he's continuing to bring about his kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. And he's asking each one of us, would we partner with Him.

Would you look at your life at school as a student, not just as getting an education that's really important, but not just that, that you're bringing the kingdom to your school, that you're shedding light in the world of darkness, right? That when you see your work out in the world, it's not just a job, even though there may be days where it feels like just a job. Well, Jesus says, will you bring the kingdom light to that little corner of the world? Would you treat your employees differently the than those who don't belong to the kingdom? Would you treat your boss differently than those who don't belong to the kingdom?

He says, would you bring light? You go, you go and make disciples. You proclaim the good news of the gospel, how it has changed your life. And as folks begin to respond, you baptize them, you help them make that public declaration, Jesus, I'm going to follow you. And then you begin to walk with them in this new way of life, continue to teach them and show them what it means to be a part of God's kingdom.

You see, that's what we're all about, not only in missions, but graduates. That's our hope for you, is that you will go into the world and make disciples. That you'll make lots of money and you'll give lots of money back to the church to expand his kingdom. That you'll innovate and you'll pursue all that wisdom that God has given to you. That you'll ask hard questions and not settle for simple answers.

And not just in the classroom, but at church. Because we believe if you're pursuing truth, you're going to find Jesus because he is the way and the truth and the life. And so even in the midst of doubts and questions and fears in church, those come, don't they? Jesus says, you keep going. You keep bearing witness to the difference that Jesus has made in your life.

On the things that we don't know, we stay faithful to the things we do know. And that's the tomb is empty and Jesus is at work and he's called us to go and tell. So our challenge this morning, church. Will we go? Will we be a part of making that kingdom a reality in our world?

If you think about it this way, in 80, 25, nobody outside a small little town had ever heard the name of Jesus, didn't know him. By AD 50, there were riots in Rome, the center of the known world, in his name. By 80, 65, his followers were now being persecuted by the emperor himself. It's now 20 A.D. 2025, and our church is here today because of those men and women, those faithful brothers and sisters who in the midst of their faith and their doubt, they continue to go and tell that we are their legacy.

And it's now at our feet to say, we hear that call of Jesus, that great proclamation, will you go and make disciples? God, I pray that you would help us to live this out. I pray that you would open our eyes and our ears to the things you want us to see and to hear. As our seniors head out into the world, they're going to encounter all kinds of different options and ways to live life. We pray that, Lord, those seeds that have been planted in them by their parents who've loved and honored them, that God, as that faith has continued to be nurtured and grown in them, that God, you will help it to take to the next level.

Whether they're in the classroom or in the workplace, God, wherever they may be, we ask for your blessing, to watch over, to protect them. And God, we ask mostly for courage that you would help them to live as a light in the world, that you would help them to go and tell. In those moments when they don't know what to say, God, may they tell it, may they say it by their actions, but God, in those holy moments, when they have an opportunity, when they're asked a question, why are you the way that you are? How would you give them the words to say? Holy Spirit, you have promised that you will give us as you did Paul and Peter and so many disciples before that you'd give us the words to say, Would you help us to have the courage to follow?

Lord, there are so many in our day who just don't know you. Or what they know of you is not a true picture. They've been hurt, they've been marginalized. God, the church, your church, your plan for bringing the kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. We haven't always lived up to what you've called us to, God, we repent of that.

And we ask, would you help us to live differently in light of that? Would you help us to be the most gracious people that others encounter? Would you help us to be the most kind? Why? Because that's who Jesus was.

That we would not respond with anger and violence, with more anger and violence. God, would you help us to see the truth that Jesus, you are in charge, everything is under you. And even though we can't always see it right now, we can see you. And so, God, would you help us to follow you closely, to be first in line and to tell others all about you. Oh God, thank you for those saints here at Broadway who were so faithful to you.

And God, we get to be here today. Would you help us to live in light of that great legacy? Would you help us to live into a better future? We pray all this in Jesus name. Amen.