There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true. —Soren Kierkegaard. "…truth is true even if nobody believes it, and falsehood is false even if everybody believes it. That is why truth does not yield to opinion, fashion, numbers, office, or sincerity–it is simply true and that is the end of it" – Os Guinness, Time for Truth, pg.39. “He that takes truth for his guide, and duty for his end, may safely trust to God’s providence to lead him aright.” – Blaise Pascal. "There is but one straight course, and that is to seek truth and pursue it steadily" – George Washington letter to Edmund Randolph — 1795. We live in a “post-truth” world. According to the dictionary, “post-truth” means, “relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.” Simply put, we now live in a culture that seems to value experience and emotion more than truth. Truth will never go away no matter how hard one might wish. Going beyond the MSM idealogical opinion/bias and their low information tabloid reality show news with a distractional superficial focus on entertainment, sensationalism, emotionalism and activist reporting – this blogs goal is to, in some small way, put a plug in the broken dam of truth and save as many as possible from the consequences—temporal and eternal. "The further a society drifts from truth, the more it will hate those who speak it." – George Orwell “There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true.” ― Soren Kierkegaard
We must acknowledge our dependence upon God and our obligations to him as our Creator, Preserver, and Benefactor.
You, O God, made me, and not I myself, therefore I am not my own but yours: 1 Corinthians 6:19(ESV) I am of your people and of the sheep of your pasture; Psalm 100:3(ESV) let me therefore worship and bow down and kneel before the LORD, my Maker. Psalm 95:6(ESV)
You, Lord, are the former of my body, and it is fearfully and wonderfully made and intricately woven. Your eyes saw my unformed substance, and in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. Psalm 139:14-16(ESV)
You have clothed me with skin and flesh; you have knit me together with bones and sinews; you have granted me life and steadfast love, and your care has preserved my spirit. Job 10:11-12(ESV)
You are the Father of my spirit, Hebrews 12:9(ESV) for you formed the spirit of man within him, Zechariah 12:1(ESV) and made me this soul. Jeremiah 38:16(ESV) The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life. Job 33:4(ESV) You put wisdom in the inward parts and give understanding to the mind. Job 38:36(ESV)
You are God my Maker, who teaches me more than the beasts of the earth and makes me wiser than the birds of the heavens. Job 35:10-11(ESV)
I am the clay, and you are my potter; I am the work of your hand. Isaiah 64:8(ESV)
You are he that took me from the womb and kept me in safety when I was at my mother’s breasts; I have been cast upon you from my birth and held up by you. Psalm 22:9-10(ESV) You are my God from my mother’s womb, and therefore my praise is continually of you. Psalm 71:6(ESV)
In you, O God, I live and move and have my being, for I am your offspring. Acts 17:28(ESV)
In your hand is my breath, and yours are all my ways; Daniel 5:23(ESV) for the way of man is not in himself, neither is it in man who walks to direct his steps, Jeremiah 10:23(ESV) but my times are in your hand. Psalm 31:15(ESV)
You are the God who has been my shepherd all my life long to this day and redeemed me from all evil. Genesis 48:15-16(ESV)
It is because of the steadfast love of the LORD that I am not cut off, even because your mercies never come to an end: they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23(ESV)
If you take away my breath, I die and return to the dust out of which I was taken. Psalm 104:29(ESV)
Who has spoken and it came to pass, unless the Lord has commanded it? From your mouth, O Most High, both good and bad come. Lamentations 3:37-38(ESV)
Revenge is a dish best served cold, or so we are told. But as people committed to the Bible, we are commanded not to take revenge. We are told to love our enemy, not plot his downfall. Yet if you have ever suffered an injustice, you know the feelings that can bubble up in your heart. If I don’t take care of this, who will? If I don’t take care of this, they might get away with it. Is there anyone you can turn to who will take care of things for you?In biblical times, Assyria was a world power that excelled at cruelty. From one of their principal cities, Nineveh, this empire ran roughshod over the ancient Near East. In his providence, God used this nation to chastise His people. But the Assyrians took delight in their cruelty and took credit for their own success (Isa. 10:10–11), so God decided to defend His people. The judgments described here are severe: Their allies would abandon them, they would be childless, their precious idols and temples would be destroyed (Nah. 1:14).This would have been a cause for rejoicing among Israelites. God promised to defend them when their enemies attacked. He had done so in the past, but with the arrival of Nineveh they might have wondered if He would do so again. The prophet declares that He would (v. 12). This was a joyous word from the Lord. Nahum calls it “good news” (v. 15). Their enemy would be totally and triumphantly defeated.Rejoicing at the downfall of an invader is understandable, but how can it be squared with exhortations to avoid revenge? Nahum provides the answer. Because God is fully capable of judging with perfect righteous judgment, His people can leave that difficult work to Him.
Go Deeper Have you been wounded and are struggling with a desire for revenge? What does Nahum teach us to do with those emotions? Extended Reading: Nahum; Habakkuk 1
Pray with Us In our flesh we crave revenge on our enemies, on those who hurt us. Holy Spirit, encourage us with Nahum’s “good news” that it’s God who fights for us as our defender from any evil.
Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them
Mark 15:15a
All the gospel writers tell us of Barabbas. He was a bloodthirsty revolutionary, hardnosed and bloody-handed; he was a murderer. The interesting thing about him is his name, which means son of the father. And in a most dramatic historic coincidence, according to some old manuscripts, there is some evidence that his name probably was Jesus Barabbas: Jesus, the son of the father. I do not see how we could read and understand that without knowing that this is again God silently guiding events behind the scene, bringing things to light that otherwise would never be known. For this crowd is confronted with choosing between Jesus, the son of the father, who rules by force and makes his living by his wits; and Jesus, the Son of the Father, who rules by love and is ready to sacrifice Himself.
Why did they choose Barabbas? The answer seems to be that they were disappointed with Jesus. This was the crowd that, just a few days before, had welcomed Him into Jerusalem. The city was filled with people Jesus had healed. The eyes of the blind had been opened, the deaf made to hear, and the lame to walk. He had awakened within the people the hope, the flaming desire, that this was indeed the Messiah, come to deliver them from the yoke of Rome. All their ideas of messiahship centered around the thought that He would be the one who would set them free from the hated bondage of Rome. Now, when they saw Him standing helpless before the Roman governor, saw His apparent unwillingness or inability to make any defense or to do anything against the Romans, all their loyalty to Him collapsed. In anger and disappointment, they turned and chose Jesus, the son of the father, who lived by force—Barabbas the murderer.
We too face the same decision these Jews had to make between Barabbas and Jesus. Have you ever been disappointed in Jesus, disappointed in God? Have you ever expected Him to act in a certain way because of what you understood about Him and His life and His nature—but He did not do things the way you thought they should be done? I have been angry and disappointed in God. I have been all but convinced that He did not live up to His promise, for I was sure that I knew what He was going to do, and God disappointed me. My heart was filled with rage that God would act that way, despite the fact that God has told us all, again and again, ‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are my ways your ways,’ declares the LORD. ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts’ (Isaiah 55:8-9). We cannot figure out God. He will be true to Himself, He will never lie, He will never deceive us; but He is more than we can handle. He is bigger than we are. And like this crowd, when we get angry with God and upset with Jesus and turn from Him, there is always another Jesus Barabbas waiting in the wings for us to follow.
Lord I realize that life is confronting me all the time with decisions to choose Barabbas or Christ. Grant that I may choose the Lord Jesus, before whom every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Life Application
What do we think of Jesus when our circumstances fail to match our expectations? Does that make us disappointed with Him? To whom then shall we turn?
1Very early in the morning, the chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin, reached a decision. They bound Jesus, led him away and handed him over to Pilate.
2“Are you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate. “Yes, it is as you say,” Jesus replied.
3The chief priests accused him of many things. 4So again Pilate asked him, “Aren’t you going to answer? See how many things they are accusing you of.”
5But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed.
6Now it was the custom at the Feast to release a prisoner whom the people requested. 7A man called Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the uprising. 8The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did.
9“Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate, 10knowing it was out of envy that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him. 11But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead.
12“What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?” Pilate asked them.
13“Crucify him!” they shouted.
14“Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”
15Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.
16The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium) and called together the whole company of soldiers. 17They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him. 18And they began to call out to him, “Hail, king of the Jews!” 19Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to him. 20And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.
Job 19:25 In this week’s studies, we see how the book of Job points us to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Theme
Evidence for the Resurrection
At the conclusion of yesterday’s study, we said that there is overwhelming evidence for Jesus’ resurrection.
There is the evidence of the narratives themselves. These are quite evidently four separate and independent accounts, for if they were not, there would not be so many apparent discrepancies—the time at which the women went to the tomb, the number of the angels, and so on. But at the same time, it is also obvious that there is a deep harmony between them; not a superficial harmony but rather a detailed harmony that is increasingly evident as the accounts are analyzed. In fact, the situation is precisely what we should expect if the accounts are four independent records of those who were eyewitnesses.
One writer summarizes the evidence like this:
It is plain that these accounts must be either a record of facts that actually occurred, or else fictions. If fictions, they must have been fabricated in one of two ways, either independently of one another, or in collusion with one another. They cannot have been made up independently; the agreements are too marked and too many. They cannot have been made up in collusion…the apparent discrepancies are too numerous and too noticeable. Not made up independently, not made up in collusion, therefore it is evident that they were not made up at all. They are a true relation of facts as they actually occurred.1
The resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ is also proved by the transformed lives of the disciples. Before the resurrection two negative things may be said about them, and this by their own confession. First, they had failed to understand Jesus’ teachings about both the crucifixion and resurrection. And second, they were cowardly. Peter had said that he would defend Jesus to the death and that he would never deny Him. But on the night of the arrest he did deny Him. And he abandoned Him, as did the other disciples. On the day of the resurrection, but before Jesus had appeared to them in the upper room, we find the disciples hiding for fear of the Jews. Some, like the two Emmaus disciples, were scattering to their homes. This is the picture that we have. But then, only fifty days later, we find them standing up boldly in Jerusalem to denounce the execution of Jesus and to call for faith in Him.
Moreover, when they were later arrested, as many of them were, we do not find them cowering in fear of the future but rather giving full testimony to Christian faith and doctrine.
What made the difference? What made cowards bold, a scattering body of individuals into a cohesive force, a disillusioned following into evangelists? Only one thing accounts for it: the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
There are many evidences, but I cannot help but mention a third, and that is the change in the day of worship. Before the resurrection the followers of Christ, who were Jews, worshiped, as did all Jews, on Saturday. The need to do this would not even have been questioned. It had been practiced for centuries. Yet from this time on we find the newly formed body of Christians meeting, not on Saturday, but on the first day of the week, on Sunday.
Why the change? Clearly because of the resurrection. Jesus arose! He lives! Consequently He is for us, as for Job, a living Redeemer.
1R. A. Torrey, The Bible and Its Christ: Being Noonday Talks with Business Men on Faith and Unbelief (New York: Revell, 1904-1906), 60-61.
Study Questions
What is the first evidence of the resurrection?
Describe the second evidence for Jesus’ resurrection.
List the third evidence that Jesus rose from the dead.
Application
Application: Are you prepared to give people reasons why you believe in Jesus’ resurrection?
For Further Study: Download for free and listen to D. A. Carson’s message, “Job and Suffering.” (Discount will be applied at checkout.)
As Athenagoras examined Christianity in the second century, he found it utterly absurd. A religion about a man who was executed as a criminal and returned in a resurrected body? How primitive, he thought! Following Plato, any respectable philosopher knew that the body was a temporary shell for the soul to discard at death.
Convinced of the irrationality of Christian claims, he set out to write a treatise against them. To do so, he studied the Scriptures and the writings of Christian apologists. But the more he read, the more he realized they were right. Being from Athens, he was particularly impressed with Paul’s speech to the Athenians in Acts 17.
Confessing his faith in Christ, he transformed his planned critique into a thorough defense of the resurrection of body and soul: On the Resurrection of the Dead. Using a language readily understood by his fellow philosophers, he argued that God made body and soul for a joint purpose, rather than for one to be discarded. Human hope is not a disembodied existence because a human being is both body and soul. This makes a bodily resurrection not only possible, but necessary.
Like other Christian apologists, he also wrote a letter to the emperor to convince him of the legitimacy of the Christian faith. The emperor was then Marcus Aurelius, who was considered a wise philosopher. Athenagoras included in the letter the emperor’s son and heir to the throne, Commodus.
This letter, known in English as A Plea for the Christians, starts with a question: Why do Roman laws allow citizens from all nations to worship many different gods, but make an exception for the worship of Christ? The Romans agreed “on the one hand, that to believe in no god at all is impious and wicked, and on the other, that it is necessary for each man to worship the gods he prefers, in order that through fear of the deity, men may be kept from wrong doing.” And yet Christians were persecuted. “Why is a mere name odious to you?”[1] Athenagoras asked.
The philosophers who attacked the Christians, Athenagoras said, were all words and no substance. “Who of them have so purged their souls as, instead of hating their enemies, to love them; and, instead of speaking ill of those who have reviled them … to bless them; and to pray for those who plot against their lives? On the contrary, they never cease with evil intent to search out skillfully the secrets of their art, and are ever bent on working some ill, making the art of words and not the exhibition of deeds their business and profession. But among us you will find uneducated persons, and artisans, and old women, who, if they are unable in words to prove the benefit of our doctrine, yet by their deeds exhibit the benefit arising from their persuasion of its truth: they do not rehearse speeches, but exhibit good works; when struck, they do not strike again; when robbed, they do not go to law; they give to those that ask of them, and love their neighbours as themselves.”[2]
He also addressed the baseless accusations leveled against Christians, such as sexual promiscuity – a charge often stemming from the fact that husbands and wives referred to each other as brother and sister in the Lord. Such charges, Athenagoras said, could be more accurately applied to the pagan gods, such as “Zeus, who begot children of his mother Rhea and his daughter Koré.”
In contrast, Athenagoras explained, “We are so far from practising promiscuous intercourse, that it is not lawful among us to indulge even a lustful look. For, says He, he that looks on a woman to lust after her, has committed adultery already in his heart.”[3]
Athenagoras was also one of the first authors to defend the biblical teaching of the Trinity, describing Father, Son, and Spirit as distinct and yet “united in essence.”[4] This proves that the core of the doctrine was embraced by the church long before the Council of Nicea.
Although Athenagoras is less famous today than other apologists such as Justin Martyr, he was highly respected in his own time and his writings served as a foundation for later Christian authors.
Looking Through the Mirror from James 1:23-24 Blair Parke Probably all of us spends some time looking in a mirror every day. But how often do we walk away and immediately forget what we look like? In James, the author warns us not to be this forgetful when it comes to what God has called us to do. Together, we will spend some time reflecting on who we are, and how we can become the people God wants us to be. Continue Reading →
How Can David Call Himself Righteous in Psalm 7? Candice Lucey David is known as “a man after God’s on heart,” but he was still a very sinful human. In Psalm 7, he calls himself righteous, and also mentions the righteousness of God. How can we compare these two forms of righteousness: one from a fallen man trying his best, and one from an all-powerful, always just God? Continue Reading →
5 Important Bible Verses about Loving Immigrants Britt Mooney For Christians, how should we engage with this discussion? God calls us to Kingdom principles, which includes both respect for the law and radical compassion. Whatever the political solution, the Father clearly expects us to show love to everyone, not least of which is the immigrant. Continue Reading →
Know These 7 Names of Jesus to Deepen Your Faith Britt Mooney Many people, even nonbelievers, know the name of Jesus. But throughout Scripture, there are many different names for our Savior. While this may be confusing for new Christians, knowing some of Jesus’ various names helps us to understand different aspects of His character and how He cares for us, His people. Continue Reading →
5 Practical Ways to Overcome Evil with Good Candice Lucey The writer of Hebrews instructs us to “stir up one another to love and good works” (Hebrews 10:24) and Paul tells the church at Thessalonica to “admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all” (1 Thessalonians 5:14). We do this together if we want to successfully overcome evil. Continue Reading →
What Is the Millennial Day Theory of the End Times? Greg Grandchamp We know this for certain – Christ is going to come again. However, the best we can do is speculate as to when that time will be. The evidence certainly would seem to hold that the true Church will not be here when it happens – but we are closer to that time than ever before. Continue Reading →
How to Love Your Christian Brother When You Don’t Like Him Much Blair Parke It is okay to admit that someone is just not a person you enjoy spending time with, but you can still show Christ’s love for them through prayer, being pleasant when you do speak to one another, and believing God can change their ways for the better instead of thinking they will never change. Taking this approach also opens the door for God to bring you into His plan for their change. Continue Reading →
4 Ways Christianity Is Unique from Other Religions Rachel Britton Christianity is the only faith with an empty grave, whose leader came back from the dead and walked and talked with his followers. Without the incarnation of God in the flesh and Jesus Christ’s resurrection from the dead, we would not have Christianity, or our restoration to God and eternal life. Jesus said: “I am the one who brings people back to life, and I am life itself. Those who believe in me will live even if they die” (John 11:25). Continue Reading →
6 Uplifting Prayers for a Scary Medical Diagnosis Bethany Verrett Whenever we go through trials and tribulations, including illness, the Lord promises that He is there, and we know He always hears our prayers. Going to Him to request healing and blessings is something He encourages. Continue Reading →
But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated. And when they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful. And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (28:16–20)
If a Christian understands all the rest of the gospel of Matthew but fails to understand this closing passage, he has missed the point of the entire book. This passage is the climax and major focal point not only of this gospel but of the entire New Testament. It is not an exaggeration to say that, in its broadest sense, it is the focal point of all Scripture, Old Testament as well as New. This central message of Scripture pertains to the central mission of the people of God, a mission that, tragically, many Christians do not understand or are unwilling to fulfill. It seems obvious that some Christians think little about their mission in this world, except in regard to their own personal needs. They attend services and meetings when it is convenient, take what they feel like taking, and have little concern for anything else. They are involved in the church only to the extent that it serves their own desires. It escapes both their understanding and their concern that the Lord has given His church a supreme mission and that He calls every believer to be an instrument in fulfilling that mission. If the average evangelical congregation were surveyed concerning the primary purpose of the church, it is likely that many diverse answers would be given. Several purposes, however, would probably be prominent. A large number would rank fellowship first, the opportunity to associate and interact with fellow Christians who share similar beliefs and values. They highly value the fact that the church provides activities and programs for the whole family and is a place where relationships are nurtured and shared and where inspiration is provided through good preaching and beautiful music. A favorite verse for such church members is likely to be, “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). At a level perhaps a step higher, some Christians would consider sound biblical teaching to be the church’s principal function, expounding Scripture and strengthening believers in knowledge of and obedience to God’s revealed truth. That emphasis would include helping believers discover and minister their spiritual gifts in various forms of leadership and service. Like fellowship, that too is a basic function of the church, because God “gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fulness of Christ” (Eph. 4:11–13). Adding a more elevated level, some members would consider praise of God to be the supreme purpose of the church. They emphasize the church as a praising community that exalts the Lord in adoration, homage, and reverence. Praise is clearly a central purpose of God’s people, just as it has always been and will always be a central activity of heaven, where both saints and angels will eternally sing praises to God. “Worthy art Thou, our Lord and our God,” sing the twenty-four elders lying prostrate before God’s throne, “to receive glory and honor and power; for Thou didst create all things, and because of Thy will they existed, and were created” (Rev. 4:10–11; cf. 5:8–14). Paul declares that God has “predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace … to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ should be to the praise of His glory” (Eph. 1:5–6, 12; cf. v. 14). Later in that same epistle he exults, “To Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever” (3:21). Jesus came into the world to manifest God’s glory, the “glory as of the only begotten from the Father” (John 1:14), as “the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature” (Heb. 1:3). Just as their Lord, Jesus Christ, came into the world with the supreme purpose of glorifying His Father, so those who belong to Christ have that same purpose. We are to praise, honor, and glorify our God in every dimension of life. All of those emphases are thoroughly biblical and should characterize every body of believers. But neither separately nor together do they represent the central purpose and mission of the church in the world. The supreme purpose and motive of every individual believer and every body of believers is to glorify God. The mission that flows out of our loving fellowship, our spiritual growth, and our praise is that of being God’s faithful and obedient instruments in His divine plan to redeem the world. That plan began in eternity past, before the foundation of the world. But it did not go into effect until Adam chose to sin, fell from fellowship with God, and was spiritually separated from Him. Since that fateful day in the Garden of Eden, fallen, natural man has been trying to hide from God, and God has been redeeming men back to Himself. From that first time of sin, it has always been God who, solely out of His own gracious love, has taken the initiative to restore men to righteousness. God has always taken the initiative for man’s salvation and restoration, from His first call to Adam, “Where are you?” (Gen. 3:9), to His last call in Revelation: “The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who hears say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost” (Rev. 22:17). It was not until sinful mankind persisted in withdrawing further and further from God that He divided them into separate nations. When He needed a witnessing nation to the world, He called out Israel as His chosen people through Abraham. When Israel failed in that calling, God chose a remnant from among them to do what the nation would not. When the nation of Israel rejected her Messiah and King, Jesus Christ, God called out the church, His new chosen instrument to redeem the world. God has been drawing, is now drawing, and, until the final judgment, will continue to draw sinful men back to Himself and to restore the world that sin has corrupted-all for the purpose of bringing glory to Himself. When sinners are saved, God is glorified, because their salvation cost Him the death of His own Son, the immeasurable price that His magnanimous grace was willing to pay. The supreme way in which God chose to glorify Himself was through the redemption of sinful men, and it is through participation in that redemptive plan that believers themselves most glorify God. Through Christ, God was “reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them,” Paul declares, “and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation” (2 Cor. 5:19). That is a work of such magnitude and graciousness that even the heavenly angels long to look into it (1 Pet. 1:12). Nothing so much glorifies God as His gracious redemption of damned, hell-bound sinners. It was for that ultimate purpose that God called Abraham, that in him “all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Gen. 12:3). It was never the Lord’s intention to isolate Israel as His sole focus of concern but rather to use that specially chosen and blessed nation to reach all other nations of the world for Himself. Israel was called to “proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day” and to “tell of His glory among the nations, His wonderful deeds among all the peoples” (1 Chron. 16:23–24; cf. Ps. 18:49). Like her Messiah, Israel was to be “a light to the nations so that [the Lord’s] salvation may reach to the end of the earth” (Isa. 49:6; cf. 42:10–12; 66:19; Jonah 3:1–10). It has never been God’s will for any person “to perish but for all to come to repentance” (2 Pet. 3:9). He “desires all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:4). God’s heart has always yearned to bring sinful, rebellious men back to Himself, to give them new, righteous, and eternal life through His Son, Jesus Christ. He so greatly “loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16). Paul rejoiced that God’s “grace which is spreading to more and more people may cause the giving of thanks to abound to the glory of God” (2 Cor. 4:15). The apostle admonished the Corinthian believers and all Christians: “Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31). Every time an unbeliever is saved by God’s grace, God is glorified, and another voice is added to the “Hallelujah Chorus,” as it were. The great mission of the church is to so love, learn, and live as to call men and women to Jesus Christ. As sinners are forgiven and are transformed from death to life and from darkness to light, God is glorified through that gracious miracle. The glory of God is manifest in His loving provision to redeem lost men. He Himself paid the ultimate price to fulfill His glory. Therefore the believer who desires to glorify God, who wants to honor God’s supreme will and purpose, must share God’s love for the lost world and share in His mission to redeem the lost to Himself. Christ came into the world that He loved and sought to win sinners to Himself for the Father’s glory. As Christ’s representatives, we are likewise sent into the world that He loves to bring the lost to Him and thereby bring glory and honor to God. Our mission is the same mission as that of the Father and of the Son. In His great high priestly prayer, Christ prayed, “This is eternal life, that they may know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent. I glorified Thee on the earth, having accomplished the work which Thou hast given Me to do” (John 17:3–4). In His incarnation, Jesus glorified the Father by accomplishing His mission of providing eternal life to those who trust in Him, by reconciling lost men to the God they had forsaken. Jesus’ supreme purpose on earth was “to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). That is therefore also the supreme mission of Christ’s church. The work of the church is an extension of the work of her Lord. “As Thou didst send Me into the world,” Jesus said to His Father, “I also have sent them into the world” (John 17:18). If God’s primary purpose for the saved were loving fellowship, He would take believers immediately to heaven, where spiritual fellowship is perfect, unhindered by sin, disharmony, or loneliness. If His primary purpose for the saved were the learning of His Word, He would also take believers immediately to heaven, where His Word is perfectly known and understood. And if God’s primary purpose for the saved were to give Him praise, He would, again, take believers immediately to heaven, where praise is perfect and unending. There is only one reason the Lord allows His church to remain on earth: to seek and to save the lost, just as Christ’s only reason for coming to earth was to seek and to save the lost. “As the Father has sent Me,” He declared, “I also send you” (John 20:21). Therefore, a believer who is not committed to winning the lost for Jesus Christ should reexamine his relationship to the Lord and certainly his divine reason for existence. Fellowship, teaching, and praise are not the mission of the church but are rather the preparation of the church to fulfill its mission of winning the lost. And just as in athletics, training should never be confused with or substituted for actually competing in the game, which is the reason for all the training. How tragic that so much of Christ’s church is preoccupied with trivialities. Many Christians are fascinated with the process and have no thought for the goal. They are preoccupied with the spiritually insignificant and show little commitment to reaching the lost. The resources God has provided most churches are, for the most part, barely tapped in their efforts to call men and women and boys and girls to Jesus Christ. The contemporary church is blessed with previously unheard of means of proclaiming the saving message of Christ to the world. But like the world at large, it is frequently crippled by indulgent, self-centered preoccupations. Instead of asking, for instance, how we might get by with a smaller house or car and use the saved money in the Lord’s work, we are inclined to dream about getting bigger and nicer ones. A counselor of my acquaintance has long had the practice of asking those who come to him for spiritual advice to show him their check stubs for the past year or so. His purpose is to help them recognize their true priorities, which invariably are reflected in the way they spend their money. Another helpful revealer of priorities is one’s calendar or appointment book, because where and for what we spend our time is also a reliable barometer of our true interests and concerns. Christian fellowship, biblical preaching and teaching, and times of praise to God are good and godly, and in many ways carry their own rewards and blessings. But reaching the lost for Christ is much more difficult and demanding, and the results are often slow in coming and the rewards are sometimes long delayed. The gospel is frequently resented by those to whom we witness, and sometimes faithful witnessing is ridiculed even by fellow believers. Yet above all others, that ministry can only be accomplished while we are on earth. We will have no opportunity in heaven to call the lost to the Savior. In his devotional book Quiet Talks with World Winners, S. D. Gordon recounted the story of a group of amateur climbers who planned to ascend Mont Blanc in the French Alps. On the evening before the climb, the guides stated the basic requirement for success. Because it was an exceedingly difficult climb, one could reach the top by taking only the necessary equipment for climbing, leaving all unnecessary accessories behind. One athletic young man discounted the guides’ advice, thinking it could not possibly apply to him. He showed up for the climb with a blanket, a small case of wine, a camera, a set of notebooks, and a pocketful of snacks. Although warned again by the guides, the strong-willed young man nevertheless started out ahead of the rest to prove his superior skill and endurance. But as the other climbers proceeded up the mountainside, they began to notice various articles left by the path. First, they noticed the young’s man’s food and wine, a short while later the notebooks and camera, and finally the blanket. The young man managed to reach the peak, but, just as the guides had predicted, he did so only after discarding all his unnecessary paraphernalia. Applying that illustration to the church, Mr. Gordon comments that, unlike that young climber, who eventually paid the price for success, many Christians, when they discover they cannot reach the top with their loads, simply stop climbing and settle down on the mountainside. In the final message of Christ reported by Matthew, Jesus gives five explicit or implicit elements that are necessary for His followers to fulfill their supreme mission on earth-to reach the mountain peak of their calling, as it were. These essential elements may be summarized as availability, worship, submission, obedience, and power.
AVAILABILITY
But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated. (28:16)
The first three elements for effectively fulfilling the church’s mission are attitudes, the first of which is implied in the fact that the eleven disciples were where the Lord had told them to be. As someone astutely observed many years ago, as far as a believer’s service to God is concerned, the greatest ability is availability. The most talented and gifted Christian is useless to God if he is not available to be used, just as God’s greatest blessings are not available to those who are not present to receive them. Faithful discipleship does not begin with knowing where you will be serving the Lord or in what capacity. It does not start with having a clear call to a certain ministry, or occupation, or place of service. It always begins with simply being available to God, putting all reservations and preconceptions aside. The eleven disciples had not received the blessing of seeing the resurrected Jesus in the garden because, unlike the faithful women, they were not there. Now, however, the eleven were where Jesus wanted them to be, and consequently they received His Great Commission and His great promise. Both before and after the resurrection Jesus said He would meet His disciples in Galilee (see Matt. 26:32; 28:7, 10). He had called a great conclave of His followers for the purpose of commissioning them to reach the world in His name, and now they were gathered at the appointed place. We are not told when or how the Lord specified the exact time and place in Galilee where they were to gather, but they were now at the particular mountain which Jesus had designated on some previous occasion. The last recorded appearance of Jesus in Jerusalem was eight days after the resurrection, when Thomas saw the resurrected Lord for the first time (John 20:26). The journey from Jerusalem to Galilee would have taken about a week, and after they arrived there some of the disciples went fishing, during which time the Lord appeared to them again, providing a catch too heavy to haul into the boat. Then, after having breakfast with them, Jesus asked Peter three times about his love for Him and gave the commission to feed His sheep (John 21:1–17). That event would have occurred at least fifteen days after the resurrection and probably closer to twenty. Because Jesus ascended from the Mount of Olives in the presence of the disciples, they had to take another week to travel back to Jerusalem. And because Jesus’ postresurrection appearances covered a total of forty days (Acts 1:3), His giving of the Great Commission on the Galilean mountainside would have had to occur some time between twenty and thirty-five days after His resurrection. We are not told who was present when Jesus gave the Great Commission, but it seems probable that it was the group of more than five hundred that Paul mentions in 1 Corinthian 15:6. That has been the view of many biblical scholars throughout church history. The fact that Matthew specifically mentions only the eleven disciples does not limit the gathering to them. The angel’s message for the women to give to the disciples seems to imply that the women would also see Jesus in Galilee (see Matt. 28:7). There would have been no reason for Jesus to send the eleven to Galilee, only to have them return a few days later to the Mount of Olives for His ascension. It seems more reasonable that the Lord assembled a large group of believers and that He chose Galilee for the meeting place because most of His followers were from that region. Because the Great Commission applies to all of His church, Jesus would surely have wanted to deliver it to the largest possible group of His faithful followers. Not only were most of Jesus’ followers from Galilee, but that region was secluded and was a safe distance from Jerusalem, where most of Jesus’ enemies were. And because the commission extends to all the world, Galilee, often referred to as Galilee of the Gentiles, also was appropriate for that reason. Wherever the mountain was, it became a place of great sacredness, where more than five hundred of Jesus’ disciples came with their weaknesses, confusion, doubts, misgivings, and fears. They were not the most humanly capable people in the world, nor the most intelligent or powerful or influential. But they were where the Lord wanted them to be, and that obedience gave evidence of their willingness to be used in His service. Like Isaiah after his vision in the Temple, they said, in effect, “Here am I. Send me” (Isa. 6:8). Because they were there, they met Christ. Because they were there, they were commissioned. Because they were there, they received the Lord’s promise of His continual presence and power as they ministered to the world in His name. It all started with being available.
WORSHIP
And when they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful. And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, (28:17–18a) The second element implied here for effective fulfillment of the church’s mission is the attitude of genuine worship. When God is not truly worshiped, He cannot be truly served, no matter how talented, gifted, or well-intentioned His servants may be. The moment Jesus appeared and the disciples saw Him, they worshiped Him, prostrating themselves in humble adoration before their divine Lord and Savior. When they saw the risen Jesus on the hillside, their confusion disappeared and their shattered dreams were restored. Their sorrow turned into unbelievable joy and their disillusionment into unwavering hope. The believers gathered there were not giving homage to a human dignitary or mere earthly ruler but were worshiping God’s own Son, the Lord of heaven and earth. Though no spoken words are recorded, in their hearts they must have been saying with Thomas after his last doubts were assuaged, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28). On but one previous occasion does Scripture say that the eleven disciples actually worshiped Jesus. After He walked to them on the water, they “worshiped Him, saying, ‘You are certainly God’s Son!’ ” (Matt. 14:33). Now their awe and their certainty of His divinity were immeasurably greater, because He was risen from the dead. It is probable that the worship of Christ on that day in Galilee has been equaled few other times in all of human history. Yet, amazingly, some were still doubtful. That simple phrase inserted by Matthew is but one of countless small and indirect testimonies to the integrity of Scripture. In transparent honesty, the gospel writer sets forth the incident as it actually happened, with no attempt to make it more dramatic or convincing than it was. As he portrayed Jesus in His divine perfection, he also portrayed Jesus’ followers, including himself, in their human imperfection. Those who attempt to write history to their own liking are inclined to magnify that which is favorable and omit that which is not. Had Matthew and the other gospel writers contrived Jesus’ resurrection, they would have had made every effort to exclude any fact or incident that would have tarnished their case. Nor would they have hesitated to falsify evidence and distort the truth. A person who lies about something of major importance has no scruples about telling lesser lies to support his primary deceit. Matthew’s simple honesty testifies both to his own honesty and to the integrity of God’s Word. The identity of the doubters is not given. Because the eleven disciples are the only ones specifically mentioned in this passage, some interpreters insist that those who were doubtful were of that group. But as already noted, it is probable that hundreds of other believers were also present. Exactly what was doubted is also not specified. If the fact of Jesus’ resurrection was in question, then the doubters could not have included any of the eleven, because all of them had already witnessed the risen Christ, some on several occasions. It seems most likely that the doubt concerned whether or not the person who appeared to them was actually the physically risen Christ or some form of imposter. Out of that large group, only the eleven disciples and some of the women who had come to the tomb had seen the risen Christ. Perhaps some of those in the back of the crowd could not see Jesus clearly and, like Thomas, were reluctant to believe such an amazing truth without firm evidence. As if to alleviate that doubt, Jesus graciously came up and spoke to them. Whatever the doubt was and whoever the doubters were, as the Lord came nearer and as His familiar voice sounded in their ears once again, all uncertainty was erased. Now those who had doubted fell down and joined the others in worship. Nothing else now mattered. It made no difference where they lived, what their heritage was, what their economic or social position was, or what their nationality was. They were now in the presence of the living God. The complete focus was on Christ. That is the essence of true worship-single-minded, unhindered, and unqualified concentration on Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Not simply to the Corinthians, but to every person to whom he spoke and in every place he ministered, Paul “determined to know nothing among [them] except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified” (1 Cor. 2:2). In his own life the apostle was determined to “know Him, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death” (Phil. 3:10). Paul’s life was so totally Christ-centered that he could say with perfect sincerity, “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Phil. 1:21).
SUBMISSION
“All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. (28:18b)
The third element for effective fulfillment of the church’s mission is another attitude, the implied attitude of submission. The focus of Jesus’ declaration here is on His sovereign lordship, but in context it also clearly relates to the believer’s response to His rule. Before the Lord states the Great Commission, He establishes His divine authority to command it. It is because of His sovereign power that His followers are to have the attitude of complete, humble submission to His will. Exousia (authority) refers to the freedom and right to speak and act as one pleases. In relation to God, that freedom and right are absolute and unlimited. The all is both reinforced and delineated by the phrase in heaven and earth. The sovereign authority given to Jesus by His heavenly Father (see Matt. 11:27; John 3:35) is absolute and universal. During His earthly ministry, Jesus demonstrated His authority over disease and sickness (Matt. 4:23; 9:35), over demons (4:24; 8:32; 12:22), over sin (9:6), and over death (Mark 5:41–42; John 11:43–44). Except for the forgiveness of sins, Jesus even exhibited the authority to delegate such powers to certain of His followers (Matt. 10:1; Luke 10:9, 17). He has authority to bring all men before the tribunal of God and to condemn them to eternal death or bring them to eternal life (John 5:27–29; 17:2). He had the authority to lay down His own life and to take it up again (John 10:18). He has the sovereign authority to rule both heaven and earth and to subjugate Satan and his demons to eternal torment in the lake of fire (Rev. 19:20; 20:10). Satan’s tempting Jesus by offering Him rulership over the world (Matt. 4:8–9) not only was wicked but foolish, because lordship of both heaven and earth was already Christ’s inheritance by divine fiat. Even the prophet Daniel foresaw sovereign authority being given to Christ. In his night vision he beheld “One like a Son of Man … coming, and He came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him. And to Him was given dominion, glory and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and men of every language might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away; and His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed” (Dan. 7:13–14; cf. Isa. 9:6–7). Jesus Himself described His coming dominion. “The sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky,” He said, “and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory” (Matt. 24:30; cf. 26:64). Jesus’ sovereign authority was given to Him by His Father, who “has given all judgment to the Son” (John 5:22), “made Him both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:36), and has “highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord” (Phil. 2:9–11). Then, finally, in an act of adoring love and submission, “when all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, that God may be all in all” (1 Cor. 15:28). Before giving the commission, Jesus first established His absolute, pervasive authority, because otherwise the command would have seemed hopelessly impossible for the disciples to fulfill, and they might have ignored it. Were it not for knowing they had the Lord’s sovereign demand as well as His resources to guide and empower them, those five hundred nondescript, powerless disciples would have been totally overwhelmed by the inconceivable task of making disciples for their Lord from among every nation on earth. Submission to the absolute sovereignty of Jesus Christ is not a believer’s option but is his supreme obligation. It is not negotiable or adjustable to one’s own particular inclinations and plans. It is rather the attitude that says with absolute sincerity, “Whatever the Lord commands, I will do.”
OBEDIENCE
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; (28:19–20a)
The fourth element for effective fulfillment of the church’s mission is obedience to the Lord’s command, made possible only when the attitudes of availability, worship, and submission characterize the believer’s life. It was in light of His absolute, sovereign authority that Jesus commanded, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations.” The transitional word is therefore. “Because I am sovereign Lord of the universe,” Jesus was saying, “I have both the authority to command you to be My witnesses and the power to enable you to obey that command.” In light of the Old Testament teaching about Israel’s mission to be God’s light to the Gentiles and in light of Jesus’ earthly ministry, it should not be surprising that His commission was to make disciples of all the nations. Mathēteuō (make disciples) is the main verb and the central command of verses 19–20, which form the closing sentence of Matthew’s gospel. The root meaning of the term refers to believing and learning. Jesus was not referring simply to believers or simply to learners, or He would have used other words. Mathēteuō carries a beautiful combination of meanings. In this context it relates to those who place their trust in Jesus Christ and follow Him in lives of continual learning and obedience. “If you abide in My word,” Jesus said, “then you are truly disciples of Mine” (John 8:31). It should be noted that some disciples were not true (see John 6:66). A person who is not Christ’s true disciple does not belong to Him and is not saved. When a person genuinely confesses Christ as Lord and Savior, he is immediately saved, immediately made a disciple, and immediately filled with the Holy Spirit. Not to be Christ’s disciple is therefore not to be Christ’s at all. Scripture knows nothing of receiving Christ as Savior but not as Lord, as if a person could take God piecemeal as it suits him. Every convert to Christ is a disciple of Christ, and no one who is not a disciple of Christ, no matter what his profession of faith might be, is a convert of Christ. The very point of Jesus’ encounter with the rich young ruler was that this man-although highly moral, religious, generous, and admiring of Jesus—refused to give up everything for Christ and submit to Him as Lord. He sincerely wanted eternal life and had the wisdom to come to the source of that life. But he was unwilling to give up his own life and possessions and obey Jesus’ command to “come, follow Me” (Luke 18:18–23). He was willing to have Jesus as Savior but not as Lord, and Christ would not receive him on those terms. Because he refused to be Christ’s disciple when the cost was made clear (like those in John 6:66), he could have no part of Christ or of the eternal life that He gives. Some popular theologies today teach that Jesus was referring to those who are already believers when He taught such things as, “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:27; cf. v. 33). Such forms of easy believism maintain that the only requirement for salvation is to “accept Jesus as Savior.” Then, at some later date, a saved person may or may not become a disciple by accepting Christ as Lord of his life. Taking up one’s cross and following Christ (Matt. 10:38) is looked on as a secondary, ideal level of relationship to Christ that is commendable but not mandatory. The Great Commission is a command to bring unbelievers throughout the world to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, and the term the Lord uses in this commissioning is make disciples. The true convert is a disciple, a person who has accepted and submitted himself to Jesus Christ, whatever that may mean or demand. The truly converted person is filled with the Holy Spirit and given a new nature that yearns to obey and worship the Lord who has saved him. Even when he is disobedient, he knows he is living against the grain of his new nature, which is to honor and please the Lord. He loves righteousness and hates sin, including his own. Jesus’ supreme command, therefore, is for those who are His disciples to become His instruments for making disciples of all nations. Jesus’ own earthly ministry was to make disciples for Himself, and that is the ministry of His people. Those who truly follow Jesus Christ become “fishers of men” (Matt. 4:19). Those who become His disciples are themselves to become disciple makers. The mission of the early church was to make disciples (see Acts 2:47; 14:21), and that is still Christ’s mission for His church. Jesus’ command for His followers to make disciples was given only once, climactically, at the very end of His earthly ministry. Some might ask, “If it was so crucial, why did Jesus mention it only once?” The reason, no doubt, is that the motivation for reaching others for Christ is innate to the redeemed life. One might as well ask why God’s command for man to “be fruitful and multiply” (Gen. 1:28) was given only once. In each case, reproduction in kind is natural to life. The call to make disciples is stated only once because it is natural for the new creation to be reproductive. It would beg the issue to repeat what is so basic. The specific requirements Jesus gives for making disciples involve three participles: going (rendered here as go), baptizing, and teaching. The first requirement makes clear that the church is not to wait for the world to come to its doors but that it is to go to the world. The Greek participle is best translated “having gone,” suggesting that this requirement is not so much a command as an assumption. Jesus’ initial instruction to the disciples was for them to go only “to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matt. 10:6; cf. 15:24). God’s design was to offer salvation first to the Jews and then to use them as His missionaries to the rest of the world. The gospel is the “power of salvation to everyone who believes,” but “to the Jew first” (Rom. 1:16; cf. John 4:22). But when Israel as a nation rejected the Messiah-King who was sent to her in Jesus, the invitation for salvation went directly to the entire world. Jesus compared Israel’s response to God’s call to a wedding feast given by a king for his son. When the favored guests refused to accept the king’s invitation and maligned and even killed some of the messengers, the king had his army destroy the ungrateful and wicked guests. He then sent his servants out to the streets and highways to invite to the feast anyone who would come (Matt. 22:1–10). The picture was of an apostate Israel who refused her Messiah and thereby forfeited the kingdom that He offered to them. At the end of His earthly ministry, Christ had only a small remnant of believers, and it was to part of that remnant that He gave His commission to evangelize the world. The first sermon of the Spirit-filled church was preached by Peter and directed to Jews and Jewish proselytes who had come to worship in Jerusalem (Acts 2:22). But God later had to dramatically convince Peter that the gospel was also for Gentiles (10:1–48). As he traveled throughout Syria, Asia Minor, and Greece, even the apostle Paul, “the apostle to the Gentiles,” normally began his ministry in a given city at the Jewish synagogue (see Acts 9:20; 13:5; 18:4). But his message was always for Gentiles as well as Jews. At his conversion on the Damascus Road, the Lord said to him,
Arise, and stand on your feet; for this purpose I have appeared to you, to appoint you a minister and a witness, … delivering you from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles, to whom I am sending you, to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to life and from the dominion of Satan to God, in order that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me. (Acts 26:16–18)
The second requirement for making disciples is that of baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. To baptize literally means to immerse in water, and certain forms of baptism had long been practiced by various Jewish groups as a symbol of spiritual cleansing. The baptism of John the Baptist symbolized repentance of sin and turning to God (Matt. 3:6). As instituted by Christ, however, baptism became an outward act of identification with Him through faith, a visible, public testimony that henceforth one belonged to Him. The initial act of obedience to Christ after salvation is to submit to baptism as a testimony to union with Him in His death, burial, and resurrection. “Do you not know,” Paul asked the Roman believers, “that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life” (Rom. 6:3–4). Immersion is the most appropriate mode of baptism, not only because the Greek word behind it connotes immersion but even more importantly because that is the only mode that symbolizes burial and resurrection. Although the act of baptism has absolutely no saving or sacramental benefit or power, it is commanded by Christ of His followers. The only exception might be physical inability, as in the case of the repentant thief on the cross, a prisoner who is forbidden the ordinance, or a similar circumstance beyond the believer’s control. The person who is unwilling to be baptized is at best a disobedient believer, and if he persists in his unwillingness there is reason to doubt the genuineness of his faith (see Matt. 10:32–33). If he is unwilling to comply with that simple act of obedience in the presence of fellow believers, he will hardly be willing to stand for Christ before the unbelieving world. Baptism has no part in the work of salvation, but it is a God-ordained and God-commanded accompaniment of salvation. Jesus said, “He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned” (Mark 16:16). Jesus made clear that it is disbelief, not failure to be baptized, that precludes salvation; but He could not possibly have made the divine association of salvation and baptism more obvious than He does in that statement. The association was indisputably clear in Peter’s mind as he exhorted his unbelieving hearers at Pentecost: “Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ” (Acts 2:38). The association was just as close in Paul’s mind, as witnessed in his great manifesto of Christian unity: “There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all” (Eph. 4:4–6). A person is saved by God’s grace alone working through his faith as a gift of God (Eph. 2:8). But by God’s own declaration, the act of baptism is His divinely designated sign of the believer’s identification with His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Baptism is a divinely commanded act of faith and obedience. New converts need to be taught that they should be baptized as soon as possible, not to seal or confirm their salvation but to make public testimony to it in obedience to their newfound Lord. The call to Christ not only is the call to salvation but also the call to obedience, the first public act of which should be baptism in His name. Throughout the book of Acts, baptism is shown in the closest possible association with conversion. The three thousand souls converted at Pentecost were immediately baptized (Acts 2:41). As soon as the Ethiopian believed in Christ, he stopped his chariot so that he could be baptized (8:38). As soon as Paul received back his sight after his conversion, he was baptized (9:18). When Cornelius and his household were saved, Peter “ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ” (10:48). As unbelievers in Corinth were being won to Jesus Christ, they were also being baptized (18:8). When Paul found some disciples of John in Ephesus who had only been baptized for repentance, he told them about Jesus, the one for whom John was merely preparing the way, and when they believed “they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus” (19:1–5). In the context of the Great Commission, baptism is synonymous with salvation, which is synonymous with becoming a disciple. As already emphasized, discipleship is Christian life, not an optional, second level of it. Baptism is to be made in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Jesus was not giving a ritual formula, although that beautiful phrase from the lips of our Lord has been commonly and appropriately used in baptismal services throughout the history of the church. In the name of is not a sacramental formula, as seen in the fact that the book of Acts reports no converts being baptized with those precise words. Those words are rather a rich and comprehensive statement of the wonderful union that believers have with the whole Godhead. In His statement here about baptism, Jesus again clearly placed Himself on an equal level with God the Father and with the Holy Spirit. He also emphasizes the unity of the Trinity by declaring that baptism should be done in Their one name (singular), not in Their separate names. As it does in many parts of Scripture, the phrase the name here embodies the fullness of a person, encompassing all that he is, has, and represents. When he is baptized, the believer is identified with everything that God is, has, and represents. The pronoun Jesus uses here (eis, in) can also be rendered “into” or “unto.” Those who teach baptismal regeneration-the belief that water baptism is essential for salvation-insist that it must here be translated “into.” But that is a completely arbitrary translation and, in any case, cannot stand up against the many other passages that prove baptism has no part in regeneration but is rather an outward act, subsequent to regeneration, that testifies to its having taken place. Baptism does not place a believer into oneness with the Trinity but signifies that, by God’s grace working through his faith in Jesus Christ, the believer already has been made one with the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. The third requirement for making disciples of all nations is that of teaching them to observe all that I commanded you. The church’s mission is not simply to convert but to teach. The convert is called to a life of obedience to the Lord, and in order to obey Him it is obviously necessary to know what He requires. As already noted, a disciple is by definition a learner and follower. Therefore, studying, understanding, and obeying “the whole purpose of God” (Acts 20:27) is the lifelong task of every true disciple. In Jesus’ parting discourse to the disciples in the upper room, He said,
If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him, and make Our abode with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me. These things I have spoken to you, while abiding with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. (John 14:23–26)
Jesus did not spend time teaching in order to entertain the crowds or to reveal interesting but inconsequential truths about God or to set forth ideal but optional standards that God requires. His first mission was to provide salvation for those who would come to Him in faith, that is, to make disciples. His second mission was to teach God’s truth to those disciples. That is the same twofold mission He gives the church. No one is a true disciple apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ, and there is no true disciple apart from an obedient heart that desires to please the Lord in all things. The writer of Hebrews makes that attitude of obedience synonymous with saving faith, declaring that Christ “became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation” (Heb. 5:9). Thanking God for the salvation of believers in Rome, Paul said to them, “Though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed” (Rom. 6:17). Every Christian is not gifted as a teacher, but every faithful Christian is committed to promoting the ministry of teaching God’s Word both to make and to edify disciples of Christ.
POWER
“and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (28:20b)
As crucial as are the first four elements for effective fulfillment of the church’s mission, they would be useless without the last, namely, the power that the Lord Jesus Christ offers through His continuing presence with those who belong to Him. Neither the attitudes of availability, worship, and submission, nor faithful obedience to God’s Word would be possible apart from Christ’s own power working in and through us. Idou (lo) is an interjection frequently used in the New Testament to call attention to something of special importance. Egō eimi (I am) is an emphatic form that might be rendered, “I Myself am,” calling special attention to the fact of Christ’s own presence. Jesus was saying, in effect, “Now pay special attention to what I am about to say, because it is the most important of all. I Myself, your divine, resurrected, living, eternal Lord, am with you always, even to the end of the age.” A helpful way to keep one’s spiritual life and work in the right perspective and to continually rely on the Lord’s power rather than one’s own is to pray in ways such as these: “Lord, You care more about this matter I am facing than I do, so do what You know is best. Lord, You love this person more than I do and only You can reach into his heart and save him, so help me to witness only as You lead and empower. Lord, You are more concerned about the truth and integrity of Your holy Word than I am, so please energize my heart and mind to be true to the text I am teaching.” Always literally means “all the days.” For the individual believer that means all the days of his life. But in its fullest meaning for the church at large it means even to the end of the age, that is, until the Lord returns bodily to judge the world and to rule His earthly kingdom. (See Matt. 13:37–50, where Christ uses the phrase “end of the age” three times to designate His second coming.) Jesus will not visibly return to earth and display Himself before the whole world in His majestic glory and power until the end of the age. But until that time, throughout this present age, He will always be with those who belong to Him, leading them and empowering them to fulfill His Great Commission. Some years ago, a missionary went to a primitive, pagan society. She became especially burdened for a young wife and eventually was used to win the woman to Christ. Almost as soon as she was saved the woman told the missionary with great sorrow, “I wish you could have come sooner, so my little boy could have been saved.” When the missionary asked why it was too late, the mother replied, “Because just a few weeks before you came to us, I offered him as a sacrifice to the gods of our tribe.”
MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (1985–1989). Matthew (Vol. 4, pp. 329–347). Moody Press.
The Great Commission
Matthew 28:16–20
Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
I am sure you have noticed in your study of the New Testament that nearly all the resurrection appearances of Jesus end with Jesus telling those present to announce the good news. This was the case with Mary Magdalene: “Go … to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God’ ” (John 20:17). This was the case with the women who were returning from the tomb. The angel had told them: “He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead’ ” (Matt. 28:6–7). When Jesus appeared to the women shortly after that he said, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me” (v. 10). The New Testament indicates that there were at least ten appearances of the risen Lord, plus another some years later to the apostle Paul. In eight of these appearance accounts, Christ gives an explicit commission, and in five he commands his followers to go into all the world and preach the gospel. Matthew does not end his Gospel with the resurrection itself. Even more striking, he does not include an account of Christ’s ascension. Instead, he ends the Gospel with the Lord’s Great Commission. Apparently it was evident to him, as it also should be to us, that the life and death of Christ should affect our speech and conduct. He reports:
Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Matthew 28:16–20
These words are for all Jesus’ disciples, of course, not only for the apostles. They are for you if you have turned from your sin to trust Jesus Christ alone for your salvation and have become his disciple. If you have, then you are to work with other Christians to lead people to faith through the preaching and teaching of the gospel, bring them into the fellowship of the church through the sacrament of baptism, and, within that fellowship, continue to teach them all that Jesus has commanded. What is wonderful about all this is that Jesus promised he will be with us as we do it. We witness in a hostile environment, but as we do, we know that Jesus will be with us to bless our efforts. When we study the Great Commission, we notice that the word all occurs four times, though this is obscured in some versions: (1) Jesus possesses all authority, (2) he sends us to all nations, (3) we are to teach people all he has commanded, and (4) as we do, we are to know that Jesus will be with us all the days, or always.
All Authority
Jesus begins with his authority: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (v. 18). This is no weak authority, because the one who spoke it is no weak master. He is the risen Lord, and “all authority in heaven and on earth” has been given to him. The fact that all authority in heaven has been given to Jesus could mean merely that the authority he exercised on earth would be recognized in heaven. If that is the case, it would be an affirmation of Jesus’ divinity. Authority such as that would be nothing other than Jehovah’s authority. Yet there is probably more to Christ’s statement than this. For one thing, when the Bible speaks about heavenly “powers” or “authorities,” it usually means spiritual or demonic powers. When it speaks of Christ’s victory through his death and resurrection, it usually also has those powers in mind. We think of Ephesians 6:12, which says of the Christian’s warfare, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Or Ephesians 1:20–21, which tells us that God “raised [Jesus] from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.” When we put Christ’s announcement in that context, we sense that he is not merely talking about an acknowledgment of his earthly authority in heaven. Rather, his authority is superior to and over all other authorities whether spiritual, demonic, or otherwise. His resurrection proves his authority over any power that can possibly be imagined. Consequently, we do not fear Satan or anyone else while we are engaged in Jesus’ service. Second, Jesus announces that he has authority over everything on earth. He has authority over us, his people. How can it be otherwise? If we are truly his people, we have confessed to him that we are sinners, that he is the divine Savior, and that we have accepted his sacrifice on our behalf and have pledged ourselves to follow him as Lord. Such a confession is hypocrisy if it does not contain a recognition of his authority over us in every area. Jesus told his disciples, “You are my friends if you do what I command” (John 15:14). If we do not obey Jesus, we are not his friends. Worse than that, we are not even Christians. Clearly, Jesus’ authority extends to the work we are called to do, including what is demanded by the Great Commission. Because we are under Jesus’ authority we are to take his gospel to the world and “make disciples” of the nations (v. 19). Again, the declaration of Christ’s authority on earth means that he has authority over those who are not yet believers. That is, his authority extends to the people to whom he sends us with the gospel. It follows, on the one hand, that Christianity is to be a world religion. No one is outside the sphere of his authority or is exempt from his call. On the other hand, this is also a statement of Jesus’ ability to bring fruit from our efforts, for it is through the exercise of his authority that men and women actually come to believe and follow him. John Stott summarizes this well:
The fundamental basis of all Christian missionary enterprise is the universal authority of Jesus Christ, “in heaven and on earth.” If the authority of Jesus were circumscribed on earth, if he were but one of many religious teachers, one of many Jewish prophets, one of many divine incarnations, we would have no mandate to present him to the nations as the Lord and Savior of the world. If the authority of Jesus were limited in heaven, if he had not decisively overthrown the principalities and powers, we might still proclaim him to the nations, but we would never be able to “turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God” (Acts 26:18). Only because all authority on earth belongs to Christ dare we go to all nations. And only because all authority in heaven as well is his have we any hope of success.
All Nations
The second great universal of this text is “all nations.” It refers, as I have just anticipated, to the universal authority of Jesus over all people and thus also to the worldwide character of Christianity. It is a bit surprising that Matthew should end on this note. Each of the Gospels has its unique character, as commentators have frequently noted. John’s is the most universal; it presents Jesus as “the Savior of the world” (John 4:42). Luke’s is a Gentile or Greek book; it is usual to think of Luke presenting Jesus as the ideal man (as well as God incarnate). Mark seems to have written for a largely Roman audience; he stresses Jesus as a miracle worker, giving less attention to his discourses than the others. By general consent, Matthew is the preeminently Jewish Gospel. It is written to show Jesus as the son of David and the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies of the Messiah. No other Gospel is so limited to the immediate historical and ethnic climate into which Jesus was born and in which he ministered. Yet it is this Gospel that ends on the most universal note. In this commission we learn that the Jewish disciples who had followed Jesus through the days of his ministry and who were being commissioned formally to his service were not to limit their operations to Judaism, as we might expect, but were to go to all the people of the world with this gospel. Whenever the church has done this it has prospered. When it has failed to do this it has stagnated and dried up. Why? Because discipleship demands evangelism; it is an aspect of our obedience as Christ’s followers, and Jesus blesses obedience. If we are following Jesus, we will go to others for whom he died. A disobedient church is one that does not evangelize, begins to dry up, or even dies. What does it mean to evangelize? Jesus tells us how to do it. First, he tells us to “make disciples.” In the King James Version this is rendered “teach all nations,” but the word translated “teach” is not the same word as the “teach” that comes later. The later word (didasko) actually does mean “teach.” It is the word from which we get our word didactic. However, the first word is matheteuo, which literally means “to make one a disciple.” This is the way the New International Version renders the phrase: “make disciples of all nations,” that is, “make them disciples of Christ.” Preach the gospel to them so that through the power of the Scriptures and the work of the Holy Spirit they are converted from sin to Christ and thereafter follow him as their true Lord. In this commission, evangelism is the primary task. On the other hand, without what follows, evangelism is at best one-sided and perhaps even unreal, for Jesus goes on to show that those who are his must lead converts to the point of baptism “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” This does not mean that empty rites or ceremonies are to take the place of a vital relationship with Christ. Rather, first, at some point one’s commitment to Jesus as Savior and Lord must become public, for baptism is a public act (it is a declaration before the world that a person intends to follow Jesus); and, second, the person is uniting with the church, which is Christ’s visible body. This is both natural and necessary. If a person is truly converted, he or she will want to join with other similarly converted people.
All I Have Commanded
The third universal of the Great Commission is the command to teach those we have evangelized. Christ commanded us to teach them “to obey everything” (or all things), which means that for all Christians a lifetime of learning must follow conversion and membership in Christ’s church. This command is particularly important in our extremely superficial age. What we observe seems to be the opposite. Instead of striving to teach all Christ commanded, many are trying to eliminate as much of his teaching as possible, concentrating instead on things that are easily comprehended and unobjectionable. But a core such as this is distorted. It is usually grace without judgment, love without justice, salvation without obedience, and triumph without suffering. The motivation of some of these reductionists may be good: They want to win as many people to Christ as possible. But the method is the world’s, and the results will be the world’s results. Robust disciples are not made by watered-down teaching. Today’s church needs to recapture the entire counsel of God. To many this seems the most foolish of pursuits. If we were to ask many so-called Christians what should be done in our day to win the world for Christ, it is likely they would talk about literature campaigns, the use of radio and television, the founding of seeker-sensitive churches, recruitment of workers, and how to raise funds. In other words, most of the discussion would center on methods rather than on content. By contrast, Jesus spoke about teaching his commandments. What should our teaching include? Clearly any short list of doctrines is inadequate. We must teach the entire Bible. Nevertheless, faithfulness to the Great Commission must involve at least the following:
A high view of Scripture. In our day, liberal teachers are trying to undercut the church’s traditionally high view of the Bible, saying that it is only a human book, that it contains errors, that it is therefore at best only relatively trustworthy or authoritative, or that, while it may be true, it is not sufficient for dealing with today’s challenges. Such attitudes have produced a weak church. It is significant that with only a few exceptions even these liberal detractors of Scripture acknowledge that Jesus regarded the Bible (in his case, the Old Testament) as authoritative. Kirsopp Lake was no friend of historic Bible-believing Christianity, but he wrote, “The fundamentalist may be wrong; I think that he is. But it is we who have departed from the tradition, not he; and I am sorry for the fate of anyone who tries to argue with a fundamentalist on the basis of authority. The Bible and the corpus theologicum of the church are on the fundamentalist side.” If we are to be faithful to all Christ’s teachings, we must teach his high view of the Bible as a fundamental part of our theology.
The sovereignty of God, especially in salvation. The English Bible translator J. B. Phillips wrote a book entitled Your God Is Too Small. That title, which is also a statement, might well be spoken of many of today’s professing Christians who, in their ignorance of Scripture, inevitably scale God down to their own limited and fallible perspectives. We need to capture a new, elevated sense of who God is, particularly in regard to his grace in saving sinners. Sovereignty refers to rightful rule. To say that God is sovereign, therefore, as the Bible does, is to say that God rules in all matters and all places. Nothing is an accident. No one catches God off guard. Moreover, he does what seems best to him. Paul wrote, “God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden” (Rom. 9:18).
The depravity of man. Church people are willing to speak of sin in the sense that we are “less perfect than God” and need help to live a godly life. That is not offensive to anyone. But it is not the Bible’s teaching. The Bible teaches that men and women are in rebellion against God (Ps. 2:1–3). It says not that they are marred by sin but that they are dead in it (Eph. 2:1–3). It says they have been so debased by sin that even their thoughts are corrupted and that in all ways “the LORD saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time” (Gen. 6:5). So great is this depravity that a person cannot even come to Christ unless God first renews his soul and so draws him. If we are going to be saved, it must be by the grace of God and by the grace of God alone.
Salvation by grace alone. While it is true that by ourselves we cannot come to Christ and so live under God’s judgment, God has nevertheless acted in grace to save some who were perishing. Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, because of Christ alone. That is the full meaning of justification, the doctrine by which the church stands or falls, according to Martin Luther. Any teaching about salvation that is less than that teaching is not authentic Christianity.
Work to do. Although God does the work of saving individuals, drawing them to Christ, he does not abandon them at that point. Rather, he directs and empowers them to do meaningful work for him. Most of Christ’s teachings about discipleship fall into this area, as does Ephesians 2:10, which says, “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” It is necessary that we do these good works (as Christians in all ages have), for unless we do we have no assurance that we are really Christ’s followers. Like Jesus himself, Christians are to stand for justice and do all in their power to comfort the sick, rescue the outcast, defend the oppressed, and save the innocent. We are also to oppose those who perpetrate or condone injustice.
The security of the believer in Christ. Jesus was strong in cautioning against presumption. He let no one think that he or she could presume to be a Christian while at the same time disobeying God’s commandments. He said, “My sheep listen to my voice … and … follow me” (John 10:27). If we are not listening to Christ and following him in faithful obedience, we are not his disciples. However, although he warned against presumption, Jesus also spoke the greatest words of assurance and confidence for those who do indeed follow him. He said that they will never be lost. Indeed, how could they be lost if he is responsible for their salvation? Jesus said, “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand” (John 10:28). No one? No one! And no thing either! For nothing either in heaven or on earth “will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:39). This does not mean that Christians will not encounter dangers. In fact, the verse implies them, for if Jesus promises that no one will be able to snatch us from his hands, he must have said so because he knows some will try. Christians will always face dangers—dangers from without, from enemies, and dangers from within. Paul lists some of them in Romans 8. Still, the promise is that those who have believed in Jesus will not be lost. The Christian may be deprived of mere things. He may lose his job, his friends, even his good reputation, but he will not be lost. Today’s Christians need to articulate these great biblical doctrines afresh rather than just adopt the theology of our culture. We need to speak of the depravity of man, so much so that there is no hope for him apart from God’s grace. We need to speak of God’s electing love, showing that God enters the life of an individual by his Holy Spirit to quicken understanding and draw the rebellious will to himself. We must show that God is able to keep and does keep those whom he so draws. These truths and the supporting doctrines that go with them need to be proclaimed forthrightly. We need to say, “This is where we stand. We do not adopt the world’s theology. We do not accept the theology of the worldly church.” Unless we do this we cannot consider ourselves to be obedient disciples of Jesus Christ—or even his disciples at all. Without this commitment our churches will not prosper and our work will not be blessed.
“I Will Be with You Always”
The final universal of Matthew 28:18–20 is “al[l]-ways” or, as the Greek text literally says, “all the days, even to the consummation of the age.” This is a great, empowering promise, and it is wonderfully true. In the first chapter of Matthew, Jesus was introduced as “Immanuel”—which, we are told, means “God with us” (Matt. 1:23). Here, in the last verse, that very same promise is repeated. John Stott adds:
This was not the first time Christ had promised them his risen presence. Earlier in this Gospel … he had undertaken to be in their midst when only two or three disciples were gathered in his name. Now, as he repeats the promise of his presence, he attached it rather to their witness than to their worship. It is not only when we meet in his name, but when we go in his name, that he promises to be with us. The emphatic “I,” who pledges his presence, is the one who has universal authority and who sends forth his people.
So ends the first and longest of the Gospels: Jesus will be with us as we go. We have been given a very great task, but we do not need to attempt it in our own strength. We have the Lord’s power at work within us as well as his promise to be with us to the very end as we obey the Great Commission.
Boice, J. M. (2001). The Gospel of Matthew (pp. 645–652). Baker Books.
For the Lord your God is he that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you. (Deuteronomy 20:4)
We have no enemies but the enemies of God. Our fights are not against men but against spiritual wickednesses. We war with the devil and the blasphemy and error and despair which he brings into the field of battle. We fight with all the armies of sin—impurity, drunkenness, oppression, infidelity, and ungodliness. With these we contend earnestly, but not with sword or spear; the weapons of our warfare are not carnal.
Jehovah, our God, abhors everything which is evil, and, therefore, He goeth with us to fight for us in this crusade. He will save us, and He will give us grace to war a good warfare and win the victory. We may depend upon it that if we are on God’s side God is on our side. With such an august ally the conflict is never in the least degree doubtful. It is not that truth is mighty and must prevail but that might lies with the Father who is almighty, with Jesus who has all power in heaven and in earth, and with the Holy Spirit who worketh His will among men.
Soldiers of Christ, gird on your armor. Strike home in the name of the God of holiness, and by faith grasp His salvation. Let not this day pass without striking a blow for Jesus and holiness.
This episode explores why your identity is the most important thing about you and how Scripture calls followers of Jesus to root who they are in Christ rather than in changing roles, emotions, or cultural labels. Drawing from social research, biblical theology, and real-life examples from law enforcement, ministry, and family, J. Warner Wallace exposes the lies that say you are what you do, what you desire, or what others say about you—and contrasts them with the unshakable identity offered “from above” in the gospel.
You’ll hear about the three main ways people form identity (outside-in, inside-out, and top-down), how trauma and life transitions reveal what you’ve really been trusting, and why only an identity in Christ can provide lasting stability and peace. By walking through key passages like John 3, Ezekiel 36, 2 Corinthians 5, and Galatians 2, this conversation will help you diagnose where your identity actually rests today and how to relocate it to the only foundation that will never shift.
Here is the audio podcast (the Cold-Case Christianity Weekly Podcast is located on iTunes or our RSS Feed):
For more information about how to flourish based on secular research and the ancient wisdom of the bible, please read The Truth in True Crime; What Investigating Death Teaches Us About the Meaning of Life. This book teaches readers 15 rues for life, recognized in murder investigations. It also makes a case for the reliability of the Bible from Biblical anthropology. The book is accompanied by a sixteen-session Truth in True Crime Video Series (and Participant’s Guide) to help individuals or small groups examine the evidence and make the case.
If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.” Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe because of the works themselves. (14:7–11)
To bolster the disciples’ wavering faith, vocalized by Thomas (v. 5), Jesus pointed them back to the truth that He is God incarnate. “If you had known Me,” He chided them (the verbs in v. 7 are plurals, indicating that the Lord was no longer addressing Thomas alone as in v. 6, but all the disciples), “you would have known My Father also.” If the disciples had fully grasped who Jesus was, they would have known the Father as well. The Lord’s statement was nothing less than a claim to full deity and equality with the Father. He is the way to God (v. 6) because He is God. He is not merely a manifestation of God; He is God manifested. That truth, a constant theme in John’s gospel (e.g., 1:1–3, 14, 17, 18; 5:18; 8:58; 10:30–33; 19:7; 20:28–29), is the watershed that divides true from false views of Christ. Many throughout history and today have regarded Jesus as nothing more than a good man; an exemplary, virtuous moral or religious teacher. But that is impossible. No one who claimed to be God incarnate, if his claim were false, could be a good man. If he knew his claim was false, he would be an evil deceiver; if he sincerely believed it was true when it was not, he would be a raving lunatic. But the evidence conclusively shows that Christ was neither a liar nor insane. Rather He was God, exactly as He claimed to be. (For a further defense of this truth, see John MacArthur, John 1–11, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary [Chicago: Moody, 2006], chapters 7, 15, 24.) How each person reacts to Christ’s claim determines his or her eternal destiny (John 8:24). It is possible to interpret the phrase from now on you know Him, and have seen Him as referring to that very moment in the upper room. However Philip’s question in verse 8, suggesting that the disciples still did not understand Jesus’ point, argues against an immediate fulfillment of His words. It was only after Christ’s death, resurrection, ascension, and the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost (John 14:17, 26; 15:26; 16:13) that the disciples would finally understand Jesus’ deity and relationship to the Father (John 20:28; Acts 2:22ff.; 3:12ff.; 4:8–12; 5:29–32). Because that understanding would certainly come in the future, Jesus spoke of it as if it were a present reality. Thomas was silenced by Jesus’ reply to his question, but Philip was still not satisfied. Expressing the disciples’ continuing lack of understanding, Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father.” He was not content with indirect knowledge of God, even that given by Jesus Himself. Instead, he wanted a visible manifestation of the Father’s presence to sustain his faith. Perhaps he had in mind the experiences of Jacob (Gen. 32:30), Samson’s parents (Judg. 13), Moses (Ex. 33:18–23; 34:6–7), the elders of Israel (Ex. 24:9–10), Isaiah (Isa. 6:1–4), and Ezekiel (Ezek. 1:1ff.). Such a theophany, Philip added, would be enough to reassure them (the plural pronoun us suggests that Philip spoke for the others as well). The Lord’s reply, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip?” was a rebuke both to Philip for his faithless request and, by extension, the rest of the disciples for their wavering faith. (The first occurrence of you in the English translation reflects a plural pronoun in the Greek text.) Reiterating the truth of His deity and oneness with the Father (v. 7), Jesus told Philip and the others plainly, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?” (cf. v. 20; 1:18; 10:38; 12:45; 15:24; 17:11, 21–23). Christ’s words are tinged with sadness. Such ignorance on the part of unbelievers (cf. John 1:10; 8:19; 16:3) was deplorable, but expected. But the Lord had poured His life into these men. They had lived day in and day out with the “image of the invisible God” (Col. 1:15; cf. 2 Cor. 4:4); the one in whom “all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form” (Col. 2:9); the “radiance of [God’s] glory and the exact representation of His nature” (Heb. 1:3). Yet despite being with Him for so long, the disciples still did not fully comprehend the truth about Jesus and His union with the Father. This confusion seems to be related to Jesus’ failure to live up to their messianic expectations. They were still wondering after the resurrection (Acts 1:6). That was both inexcusable for them and disappointing to Jesus. The Lord’s further question in verse 10, “Do you not believe that I am in the Father?” and His command in verse 11, “Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me,” suggest the cure for the disciples’ confusion and turmoil. Faith is not only the means of appropriating salvation (Eph. 2:8; cf. Acts 15:9; 20:21; 26:18; Rom. 3:22, 25–28, 30; 4:5; 5:1; Gal. 2:16; 3:7–9, 24, 26; Phil. 3:9; 2 Thess. 2:13; 2 Tim. 3:15), it is also the very essence of sustaining the Christian life (Acts 6:5; 11:24; 2 Cor. 5:7; Gal. 2:20; Eph. 6:16; 1 Thess. 5:8; 1 Tim. 4:12; 6:11; 2 Tim. 2:22; Heb. 13:7). But the Christian faith is neither a blind, irrational, “leap in the dark” nor a vague, mystical faith in faith itself. It rests on the solid ground of overwhelming evidence. Jesus shored up the disciples’ sagging faith by reminding them first of His words, which He did not speak on His own initiative, but through the abiding power of the Father. John the Baptist testified of Christ, “For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God” (John 3:34). Jesus declared in John 7:16, “My teaching is not Mine, but His who sent Me.” In 12:49 He added, “For I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak.” So powerful were the Lord’s words that at the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount, “when Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes” (Matt. 7:28–29). Explaining to their superiors why they failed to seize Him, those sent to arrest Jesus said in awe, “Never has a man spoken the way this man speaks” (John 7:46). The powerful, divine words of Jesus Christ, which penetrate the heart and mind, are the answer to the cry of the redeemed, “Increase our faith!” (Luke 17:5; cf. 2 Cor. 10:15). Not only is faith based on the words of Christ, but also on the unprecedented (John 15:24; cf. 9:32; Matt. 9:33; Mark 2:12), undeniable (John 3:2; 7:31; 11:47) miraculous works He performed. Therefore, He challenged the disciples, “Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe because of the works themselves.” In John 5:36 Jesus declared, “The works which the Father has given Me to accomplish—the very works that I do—testify about Me, that the Father has sent Me,” while in 10:25 He added, “The works that I do in My Father’s name, these testify of Me” (cf. vv. 32, 37–38; Matt. 11:2–5; Acts 5:22–23). His claim to be equal with God (cf. John 5:18) was not only established by His own self-testimony (and the testimony of John the Baptist [5:31–34] and of the Old Testament Scriptures [5:39–46]), but confirmed by the mighty and extensive supernatural works that the Spirit enabled Him to accomplish in the will of the Father (John 5:36–37).
MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2008). John 12–21 (pp. 103–106). Moody Publishers.
How to See God
John 14:7–11
“If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves.”
In the fourteenth chapter of John’s Gospel, in the midst of the last discourses, one of Christ’s disciples makes a request with which most Christian people can identify. The disciple was Philip. The request he made was, “Lord, show us the Father.” It was the request to see God. There are times when each of us earnestly wishes that the experience Philip asked of the Lord Jesus Christ could be possible. We know, of course, that God does not possess a tangible form. We even know that this is only what we ought to expect and that it is desirable. But still there are times when God seems so remote, so untouchable, that we earnestly wish we could see him. We would like to gaze upon God and hear his voice in words that actually strike our eardrums. In such moments we believe that if we could have this experience, then we should find it easier to live for God in the midst of this world. And—we must be honest here—we sometimes imagine that God is holding out on us, making it more difficult for us by denying this experience. Have you ever had these thoughts? If you have, then the words of the Lord Jesus Christ to Philip in the upper room should be of great interest to you.
Knowing God
We must notice, however, before we begin to look at Christ’s answer, that Philip’s question arose in the context of Christ’s teaching about knowing God, so that in this case Jesus actually provoked his disciple’s question. A moment before Jesus had taught that he was the sole way to God. “No one comes to the Father except through me,” he said. Then he went on, “If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him” (v. 7). What do you think of that statement? Do you think that it is easily comprehensible? Do you grasp its meaning at once? This statement makes one stop and ponder. However, if it does that for us now, at this point in history, I am convinced that it most certainly had that effect upon the disciples and was therefore spoken by Jesus precisely for that purpose. In other words, it is apparent from the nature of the statement, and the context, that Jesus spoke as he did in order to provoke a discussion on this subject. He was about to leave his disciples. He knew that when he should be taken from them they would be plunged into a dark and melancholy despair. In their despair God would seem extremely remote. Consequently, he introduced the subject in order to teach them that they had already seen God and were therefore to know him from this time forward, whether they realized it or not. “From now on, you do know him and have seen him,” he said. Philip fixed his thoughts upon the idea of seeing, as we often do, and demanded, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us” (v. 8).
Limitations of Seeing
As Philip asked this question he was probably thinking of those Old Testament examples in which a person or group of persons is said to have seen God. Moses was one. He had asked to see God’s glory, and God had replied, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence” (Exod. 33:19). Then the Lord placed Moses within a cleft of rock, covered the space with his hand, and passed by. Elijah had a similar experience when the Lord caused a great wind, an earthquake, and a fire to pass before his prophet, though the Lord was not in the wind, the earthquake, or the fire. He was in the still small voice that Elijah heard afterward (1 Kings 19:11–12). There is also a verse that tells us that Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel “saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a pavement of sapphire, clear as the sky itself” (Exod. 24:10). None of these passages mean that the persons involved actually saw God as he is in himself. God had told Moses, “You cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live” (Exod. 33:20). Still, the experience of the others was something great, and this was good enough for Philip, whatever it was. He therefore asked Jesus, whom he believed could do anything, for a theophany. But how did the Lord reply? Instead of granting the request or even attempting to explain why Philip’s desire was unwise or impossible, Jesus began to teach what it really means to see God, and how to see him. The point with which he began was the limitation of the kind of seeing Philip had in mind. To understand this point we need to see the contrast implied in Christ’s next statement. Philip had said, “Lord, we would know God if we could just see him.” But Jesus says, making the contrast, “It is strange that you say that, Philip. For I have been with you three years. You have seen me throughout that period, and yet you do not know me. Why then do you think that seeing would help you know God?” This is the meaning of the statement, “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time?” (v. 9). Obviously, the kind of seeing that Philip had in mind does not lead to a true knowledge of anyone.
A Right Kind of Seeing
The Lord Jesus Christ did not stress merely the limitations of the kind of seeing Philip envisioned, however. He also talked about the right kind of seeing, a seeing centered entirely in himself. He is the object of it. Jesus continued, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? (v. 9). True, there is a seeing that is inadequate. But, on the other hand, there is a seeing that is altogether right. In this seeing, the sequence is obviously: (1) seeing the Lord Jesus Christ with understanding, (2) coming to know Jesus as a result of that seeing, and (3) coming to know God through knowing Jesus. But what kind of seeing is this? The seeing involved is illustrated by the story of Peter and John’s trip to the tomb of Jesus, recorded just six chapters farther on in John’s Gospel. In that story three different words are used for “seeing,” though each is translated by the identical word “see” in our Bibles. The first is blepō. It is used of John who, having outdistanced Peter in the race to the tomb, stooped down “and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying.” This is the simplest word for “see.” It merely means that the image of the graveclothes within the tomb had impressed itself upon the retina of John’s eyes. In a few moments Peter arrived. Since he was not one to stand around doing nothing, Peter pushed John aside and actually entered the tomb. Here he had opportunity to observe the graveclothes; so, in this case, a different word for “see” is used. The word is theōreō. It means to “puzzle over” or “scrutinize.” In this case, Peter needed to puzzle over the fact that the clothes were there but the body was gone. If the body had been taken away, why were the graveclothes not taken away with it? Or, on the other hand, if the bands had been removed, why were they not scattered about the tomb and the spices spilled? Instead of this, the bands were exactly as they had been when they were wound around the body, and the head cloth was set off by itself just as it had been when it was around the head of the Master. At this point John tells us that he entered, saw what Peter saw, and believed. Only now the word is not theōreō or blepō. It is oraō, which means “to see with understanding.” That is why John says that he “saw and believed.” He saw that the only thing that would account for the arrangement of the graveclothes was a resurrection. That is precisely the word used in John 14, where Jesus says that the one who has “seen” him has “seen” the Father. He means that the one who perceives who he is perceives God. The point can be made in another way also. Notice that Philip had asked to be “shown” the Father. This is the verb deiknumi, which, in effect, calls for a demonstration. Jesus replied that what was needed was not so much a demonstration as an apprehension. It is not a seeing but a perceiving that is important. This has great bearing for us, of course, for if seeing physically is the important thing, we are deprived. Not only can we not see God; we cannot even see Jesus, which was at least Philip’s privilege. Jesus is simply not here. We cannot observe him. On the other hand, if perceiving is the true seeing, then we are not deprived at all, for we can perceive Jesus and, perceiving him, can perceive and know God. Indeed, we can know him as well and in exactly the same way as he was known by these believing contemporaries of the Lord Jesus.
Believing Is Seeing
To speak of the Lord’s “believing contemporaries” leads us to the final section of these verses, for it can hardly escape the notice of any careful reader that the discussion of knowing and seeing, which fills the first half of the paragraph, gives way to a discussion of belief (or faith) in the second. In the first half, the word “know” occurs four times and the words “seen” or “show” five times. In the second half (including verse 12), not one of these three words can be found. But the word “believe,” “believed,” or “believes” is repeated four times over. Why? It is no great mystery. It is merely another example of the New Testament teaching that in spiritual things belief must come first, after which true seeing will follow. Earlier in the Gospel, Jesus had said of the people of his day, “Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders, you will never believe” (4:48). This was a true description of the thinking of vast numbers of men and women in his time, as we pointed out when we studied that verse. It is the old philosophy, “Seeing is believing,” upon which the world operates. But Jesus inverts it. On the occasion on which the words I have just quoted were spoken, Jesus instructed a nobleman, who had come to him for the healing of his child, “You may go. Your son will live” (v. 50), as a result of which the nobleman believed and then saw the thing he had requested. In the same way, in chapter 11, just before he is to raise Lazarus from the dead, Jesus turns to unbelieving Martha and asks, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” (v. 40). If this is only a human matter, the suggestion that we should believe without sight is absurd. Who wants to believe without sight? No one. And no one does. On the other hand, in spiritual matters it is entirely reasonable to do this, because in this case we are dealing not with a mere man but with God. Jesus is God. To believe him is the most logical act in the universe.
Faith’s Object
The matter of seeing God stops with believing on Jesus, but we are not to suppose by this that belief is therefore some subjective, intangible thing, as if we are to work ourselves up to faith by wishful thinking. This is not the biblical idea at all. Consequently, Jesus goes on to talk about belief in two things or, as we might also say, on two levels. The first level is belief in his words; the second is belief in his works. In other words, belief is as objective and tangible as the words and works of Jesus. Jesus does not call for blind faith. He calls for a thinking faith. He here challenges faith by asking us to test his claims on the basis of the things said and the deeds done. Have you tested Christ’s words? In one of his writings Charles Haddon Spurgeon tells of an old unbeliever who was dying. A great Scotch preacher by the name of Innis, came to see him. He inquired of his faith in Christ and was told, “Mr. Innis, I am relying solely on the mercy of God; God is merciful, and he will never condemn a man forever.” When he became worse and was nearer death, Mr. Innis went to him again. This time the man said, “Oh, Mr. Innis, my hope is gone; for I have been thinking that if God is merciful, God is just too; and what if, instead of being merciful to me, he should be just to me? What would then become of me? I must give up my hope in the mere mercy of God; tell me how to be saved.” The minister then told him of Christ’s words and deeds. He told him how Christ had come into the world to save sinners. He told him how he had promised to do this by going to the cross to die in their place, how this had been done, and how Jesus had promised that none of those who had been given to him by the Father should ever be lost. “Ah,” said the infidel, “Mr. Innis, there is something solid in that; I can rest on that. I have found that I cannot rest on anything else.” There is nothing else. Belief is meaningless unless it rests on the words and works of Jesus.
Little Faith
But perhaps even now you feel that your faith is too small and that you will therefore never come to see God. If this is the case, notice that before he moves on to other subjects Jesus stops to say a word just to you. You may not be able to believe on the basis of his teaching alone, he argues. But you can surely believe on the basis of what he has done. “Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves” (v. 11). To believe on the basis of the miracles is not the best kind of faith, but it is true faith regardless. It is better than no faith at all. Better than thinking about faith itself is to think on faith’s object. Some time ago I came upon this illustration from the works of Donald Barnhouse. Barnhouse had been in Palestine and had been taken to the great hall of the Sanhedrin. In that hall there is a window which looks out over the wailing wall, at the base of which stand groups of rabbis, slowly beating their breasts in sorrow for sin while repeating phrases from the Book of Lamentations. As Barnhouse looked he saw that above their heads, along the high expanse of the wall, grew the long trailing plant identified as the hyssop of the Bible. Barnhouse asked about the plant and learned that it has a remarkably shallow root. Often it is not over a half-inch long. But with this root the hyssop clings to the surface of the rock, drawing its sustenance from the air, wind, rain (when there is any), and small particles of nourishment in the rock itself. From that tiny root the plant flourishes, sometimes growing to a length of twelve or fourteen feet. “What a great plant to grow from such a slender root,” thought Barnhouse. What a symbol of the faith God calls for! In itself faith is worthless, just as worthless as the root if it should become unattached. If one grasps the branch and pulls the root away from the rock, the branch will soon die. To be of value the root must cling to the rock. Thus, faith, which is nothing in itself, becomes the key to life when it clings to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Rock of Ages. It is through faith in him that we see God.
Boice, J. M. (2005). The Gospel of John: an expositional commentary (pp. 1087–1092). Baker Books.
What We’re Really Asking Today: Could Another Holocaust Happen? In the West today, Jews and non-Jews speak anxiously about antisemitism. They debate incident statistics, survey results, attitudes toward Israel, and the distinction — supposedly crucial — between hostility to Jews and hostility to the Jewish State. Enormous intellectual and financial energy is invested in measuring all of this. Yet these debates are largely beside the point. They are a proxy for a darker, unspoken question: could another Holocaust happen? I believe, unavoidable: another catastrophe for the Jews is not only possible but increasingly probable. This is not because of a sudden resurgence of old-fashioned hatred, but because Western societies are undergoing a profound spiritual and political transformation — and Jews are once again positioned as expendable.
President Trump says he had productive call with Gov. Walz, will send Tom Homan to Minnesota President Donald Trump announced that his border czar, Tom Homan, will arrive in Minnesota Monday evening, saying he and Gov. Tim Walz had a cordial phone call and are aligned on working toward a solution as federal immigration enforcement intensifies across the state. Trump said he told Walz that his administration’s focus would be on identifying and removing criminal offenders, adding that Homan would contact the governor directly.
Appeals court sides with Trump admin to lift Minnesota protest curbs on ICE agents “The videos underscore how difficult it would be for [federal agents] to decide who has crossed the line: they show a fast-changing mix of peaceful and obstructive conduct,” the panel said. A federal appeals court on Jan. 26 granted the Trump administration a full stay of a lower court ruling that prevented ICE agents from detaining protesters or using nonlethal munitions and crowd dispersal tools during protests in Minnesota
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Saudi crown prince says Riyadh ‘will not accept any aggression’ against Iran Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian that the kingdom “will not accept any aggression, threat or provocation against Iran,” according to a readout released by Tehran following a phone call between the two leaders on Tuesday. The conversation took place as tensions continue to rise between Tehran and Washington. According to the Iranian statement, the crown prince told Pezeshkian that Saudi Arabia “declares its readiness for full cooperation with Iran and other countries in the region in order to establish lasting peace and security.”
US considering targeted strikes on Iran Iran arresting medical personnel treating protesters as US considers taking out key Iranian officials, The US is weighing targeted strikes on Iranian officials and commanders as the death toll in the Iranian protests reaches a reported high of over 36,000, reports said. The strikes could take place this week, the Middle East Eye added. Meanwhile, Iran’s rial fell to a record low of 1.5 million rials to one USD.
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Doomsday Clock moves to 85 seconds to midnight over threats from nuclear weapons, climate change and AI Scientists pointed to escalating conflicts involving nuclear-armed nations, including war between Russia and Ukraine, fighting between India and Pakistan and concerns over Iran’s nuclear capabilities and growing tensions in the Middle East. Earth is closer to destruction than ever before as Russia, China, the United States and other nations grow “increasingly aggressive, adversarial and nationalistic,” a science-focused advocacy group said Tuesday as it moved its symbolic Doomsday Clock to 85 seconds to midnight.
Patel Says FBI Has Discovered Groups Funding Minnesota Protests On Monday, FBI Director Kash Patel on Tuesday confirmed that the bureau is investigating groups that are believed to be organizing protests against ICE officials in Minneapolis, as daily demonstrations throughout the city continue. We’ve made substantial progress,” he said. “We’ve actually found groups and individuals responsible for funding it ‘cause it’s not happening organically.”
Tether Launches USAT, A Federally Regulated, Dollar-Backed Stablecoin For The US Market Tether, the world’s largest digital asset company by stablecoin circulation, announced Tuesday the official launch of USA₮, a federally regulated, dollar-backed stablecoin designed specifically for use in the United States under the recently enacted GENIUS Act.
EF-2 tornado hits downtown Geneva, Alabama, strongest since December 2000 An EF-2 tornado struck Geneva in southeastern Alabama on January 25, causing structural damage across parts of the city and nearby areas. This is the strongest tornado to hit the area since December 2000. Damage included partial roof loss to well-built structures, snapped and uprooted trees, and localized structural impacts consistent with EF-2 intensity. No fatalities or injuries were reported.
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US official: Over 25 countries have joined Board of Peace, which will first focus on Gaza US official says in a briefing with reporters that more than 25 countries have agreed to join the Board of Peace. Earlier Monday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed “20 additional countries” had agreed to join Trump’s board, seemingly suggesting that this new group was on top of the roughly 20 that had already agreed to join last week.
A Monarch who will not defend the Faith cannot defend the realm King Charles III’s engagement with Islam raises questions about his role as a Christian monarch and Supreme Governor of the Church of England. He has drifted from being a Christian monarch to a religious pluralist. “The tragedy is not that King Charles respects Islam. The tragedy is that he appears increasingly unsure whether Christianity is true. And a Christian kingship without conviction is not progress – it is abdication,” Bishop Ceirion Dewar writes.
TEXAS ALERT: Marxist/Islamic Coalition Mobilizes at Dallas City Hall Jan. 29 — ‘ICE OUT NOW’ + ‘JAIL KILLER COPS’ A radical Marxist–Islamic activist coalition is mobilizing at Dallas City Hall on Jan. 29 to pressure local government into driving ICE out of North Texas while demonizing law enforcement as “killer cops”—a coordinated intimidation campaign disguised as “community action.” This is not “peaceful civic engagement.” This is political intimidation, weaponized propaganda, and the normalization of extremist rhetoric inside Texas.
Protect the Texas We Love: The Streets Where Cowboys Rode… Now Belong to Islam Texas was built on faith, freedom, and pride; now it’s being taken symbol by symbol, and if we don’t stand up for her now, we’ll lose the Texas we love forever. The signs of cultural takeover are no longer subtle: foreign flag displays, Islamist parades seizing major streets, halal corridors replacing Texas staples, Arabic billboards rewriting Christianity, churches turned into mosques, etc. This isn’t “diversity.” This is replacement, and it’s happening in real time.
United Kingdom Announces MASSIVE Investment For AI, Facial Recognition Technology for Policing System The UK announced plans to rapidly expand use of artificial intelligence and facial recognition technology to boost the surveillance state. Home Secretary Mahmood said the massive investment will help fix the country’s “broken” policing system. “This will include the largest-ever rollout of live facial recognition technologies across England and Wales,” Mahmood said. “At the same time, we will launch police dot AI, investing a record £150 million in AI…”
Actors in graphic homosexual TV show invited to carry torch for Winter Olympics After the National Hockey League (NHL) showed trailers for HBO’s homosexual-themed series featuring glimpses of nude males engaged in graphic porn scenes on its giant jumbotrons during games, the newly minted porn stars were invited to carry the Olympic torch as it makes its way to the Winter Games in Italy next month. Leftist Salon magazine admits that “smut is the point’ of the show.
“Where there is no law, there is no liberty; and nothing deserves the name of law but that which is certain and universal in its operation upon all the members of the community.” —Benjamin Rush (1788)
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Border czar meets with Tim Walz and Jacob Frey: Border Czar Tom Homan, who was sent to take over the immigration enforcement operations in Minnesota this week, met yesterday with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey. Homan reported, “While we don’t agree on everything, these meetings were a productive starting point.” Walz continues to insist that his state does and always has cooperated with ICE in handing over illegal immigrants in Minnesota custody. Meanwhile, Frey promised that his city will continue to flout federal immigration law and continued to assert that law enforcement, not massive numbers of illegals, rioters, and fraudsters, is the source of the strain upon his city. If Walz wishes to soothe the troubled waters in his state, he will need to exercise some leadership and compel cooperation from his state’s mayors.
Pretti had a previous violent encounter with ICE: Alex Pretti had a history with ICE. Before his fatal tussle, Pretti interfered with ICE chasing a suspect down the street, getting out of his car to scream and berate the agents. He was tackled and allegedly suffered a broken rib before being quickly released. One week later, he violently obstructed an immigration enforcement action, refusing to comply and struggling with officers until he was killed. Details about his death are starting to be released. DHS issued a memo of “factual reports — not analytical judgments” showing that one Border Patrol agent and one Customs and Border Protection officer fired their weapons at Pretti. The report did not identify the agents or which one was the source of the fatal shot.
Ilhan Omar sprayed with unknown substance at town hall event: Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar was speaking at a town hall event on Tuesday night when a man stood up and used a syringe to squirt her with a liquid before being tackled. Omar stood her ground against the man and can be heard describing him as a “f**king a**hole.” Despite her team insisting she needed to go to a hospital and change for fear of the liquid, Omar insisted, “Just give me 10 more minutes,” before telling the crowd that they are “Minnesota strong.” U.S. Capitol Police report that the man is in custody and will be facing “the most serious charges possible.” Omar reported on X after the event that she was fine and would not let bullies win.
Schumer wants another shutdown: Democrats see a political opportunity to exploit the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement efforts in Minnesota, so Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer wants to halt a funding measure for DHS that is part of a six-bill spending package. Schumer is demanding that the DHS funding measure be pulled, an action Republicans oppose so as to avoid having to send the legislation back to the House. Furthermore, the House Freedom Caucus has vowed to block any spending package that does not include funding for DHS. Schumer called ICE’s actions “state-sanctioned thuggery” and rejected President Trump’s subsequent de-escalation actions as not “good enough.” Schumer is angling for another government shutdown with his demand, since breaking up the spending package would require the Senate’s unanimous consent, something Republicans won’t give.
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Virginia targets current gun owners: Virginia State Senator Azlan Salim, who was born in Bangladesh, has introduced legislation that will put Virginians on the wrong side of the law if they don’t turn in any gun magazine that holds more than 10 rounds. Salim’s legislation was advanced out of committee on Monday. Former Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, who recently lost his position to a Democrat who gleefully wished death upon the children of his opponents, has come out against the legislation in the strongest terms. Miyares summed it up: “Seems some want to lower criminal penalties on everyone but law abiding citizens of Virginia.”
Ukraine war casualties could hit 2M by spring: As the war in Ukraine grinds toward four years since Russian troops invaded in February 2022, the number of soldiers killed or wounded on both sides of the conflict is reaching a staggering total. A recent study from the Center for Strategic and International Studies estimates that the war will have two million casualties by the spring. Russians have suffered 1.2 million casualties, 325,000 of which are troop deaths. That’s the highest number Russians have seen since World War II. Meanwhile, Ukraine has suffered between 500,000 and 600,000 casualties, of which an estimated 140,000 are deaths. Of course, neither Kiev nor Moscow offers accurate or timely casualty numbers, with Russia absurdly admitting only 6,000 soldiers killed.
Headlines
“No Kings” protest organizers target Minneapolis-St. Paul for next flagship demonstration (Fox News)
Trump warns Iraq against reinstalling Nouri al-Maliki as prime minister (WSJ)
TikTok settles landmark social media addiction lawsuit ahead of trial (National Review)
Amazon slashing some 16,000 jobs in its latest layoff round (CBS News)
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Independent journalist Cam Higby released a story over the weekend that exposed how leftist anti-ICE agitators in Minnesota have been coordinating to track, identify, and impede federal law enforcement.
The group uses Signal chats to gather information, communicate, and coordinate. Higby infiltrated these chats and sought to identify a number of the people involved, especially at the leadership level, who have been engaged in efforts to obstruct ICE from doing its job.
The tactics of these anti-ICE agitators are pretty simple. First, they gather information on suspected immigration officials by collecting license plates into a database. Then, they track these suspected agents to find where they are staying. They also coordinate to impede suspected ICE actions.
Of course, they do all this in the name of “protesting,” but these aren’t simple protests. They’re acts of obstructing law enforcement. Indeed, the agitators’ strategy is to discredit ICE and stop all enforcement of federal immigration law.
In fact, the recently deceased Alex Pretti, who was killed while resisting arrest, was a member of this Signal chat network.
However, Higby uncovered other names that raise the possibility that this coordinated anti-ICE effort includes members of the media and even Minnesota politicians.
Since the allegations about these political individuals have not yet been confirmed, we will not share their names. However, there appears to be enough smoke for the FBI to investigate the potential fire.
As FBI Director Kash Patel made clear, “We immediately opened up that investigation because that sort of Signal chat being coordinated with individuals, not just locally in Minnesota, but maybe even around the country — if that leads to a break in the federal statute or a violation of some law, then we are going to arrest people. You cannot create a scenario that illegally entraps and puts law enforcement in harm’s way.”
If Minnesota Democrats are involved, it may explain Democrat Governor Tim Walz’s sudden willingness to at least appear to de-escalate the situation via his phone conversation with President Donald Trump. The governor is already in hot water over the Somali welfare fraud scandal, and he has repeatedly used incendiary rhetoric about ICE, which may be why he is suddenly trying to make nice with Trump.
Should it be found that members of the Walz administration were complicit in doxing and impeding federal immigration law enforcement, it would further expose that these anti-ICE protests are neither organic nor grassroots; rather, they are part of an organized, agenda-driven campaign by radical leftist groups to undermine the Rule of Law and sow discord across the country.
If Democrats are complicit in such activities aimed at obstructing the lawful actions of federal law enforcement officers, they may be guilty of insurrection. Anyone working against the federal government in such a manner needs to be held to account.
Keep an eye on this story. If it does turn out that Democrat officials were involved in these Signal chats, and even directing their actions, then we’re dealing with a much bigger scandal.
Nate Jackson: Trump Shifts to the Economy — Continuing his Affordability Tour, Donald Trump is still refining the message on his administration’s efforts to lift the economic boat for all Americans.
Emmy Griffin: It Seems That the Rainbow Mafia Overreached — Two research psychologists try to explain why, politically, both the Left and the Right are increasingly turning against homosexual behavior and culture.
Sophie Starkova: An Ousted Chinese General Matters for Taiwan — Xi Jinping is consolidating power and making moves that may indicate he views the window for attacking China’s island neighbor as opening.
Linda Moss Mines: America 250: A National Commemoration — From Washington, DC, to the smallest of towns and villages, prepare for the bells of liberty, equality, and justice to ring out across the nation.
Green Energy Is No Match for Winter Storms — Winter doesn’t just increase electricity demand — it can collapse the entire power grid, especially with increasing reliance on renewable energy sources.
SHORT CUTS
Non Compos Mentis
“The Nazis ultimately lost. Nazi ideology was outlawed through de-nazification. One day we will see the de-MAGA-ification of this country. It will come. And you know what else happened? Leaders of the Nazi regime were prosecuted and tried as war criminals.” —radio host Lenard “Charlamagne” McKelvey
“I’m not trying to upset Latinos. This is said because I know my history. [S]lave patrols were some sort of military-like-ish policing force that was going out and grabbing and disappearing people based upon their skin color. People were having to walk around and show their papers. … That’s what it looks like to me.” —Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) comparing ICE to slave patrols
“You’re a f***ing fascist pig. You should f***ing kill yourself. I hope your wife dies. I hope your mom and dad die. I hope everything wrong that could go in your life happens.” —a voicemail left for an ICE agent
Demagogues
“We are not a nation that guns down our citizens in the street. We are not a nation that allows our citizens to be brutalized for exercising their constitutional rights. … Minnesotans have reminded us all what it is to be American, and they have suffered enough at the hands of this Administration.” —former President Joe Biden
“To me it is very clear that the mission the president and Kristi Noem and Stephen Miller and JD Vance and all of them sent these federal officials on is a mission to violate people’s constitutional rights.” —Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro
“When you publicly execute two people within 10 days, there have to be consequences.” —Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA)
Memo to Tim Walz
“Anne Frank was targeted and murdered solely because she was Jewish. Leaders making false equivalencies to her experience for political purposes is never acceptable. Despite tensions in Minneapolis, exploiting the Holocaust is deeply offensive, especially as antisemitism surges.” —U.S. Holocaust Museum
For the Record
“In a matter of 24 hours, Tim Walz went from claiming this is an Anne Frank situation to collaborating with what he suggested are the latter-day SS.” —Sohrab Ahmari
“I’m looking at that whole situation. I love everybody. I love all of our people. I love [Alex Pretti’s] family. And it’s a very sad situation.” —President Donald Trump
“It’s perfectly reasonable to believe a shooting was bad and still believe ICE’s overall purpose is right. Anyone who tells you otherwise is a partisan hack.” —David Harsanyi
“In Georgia, a 26-year-old illegal alien with no prior record raped an 11-year-old girl at knifepoint. The illegal alien came here during the Biden Administration. It is why we must deport more than those convicted of crimes. This guy had no prior record.” —Erick Erickson
Re: The Left
“[Minneapolis] Mayor [Jacob] Frey thinks there is a ‘moral imperative’ to not cooperate with federal law enforcement. … Just imagine the reaction if any elected Republican said there was a ‘moral imperative’ to not cooperate with federal environmental laws, federal gun laws, or federal tax laws.” —Gary Bauer
“In Virginia, we just swore in a Democrat attorney general who fantasized about the murders of his political opponents’ children. This is the alternative to the Republican Party, and this is who they elect as top law enforcement officials. Is there any doubt that our civil liberties will be in jeopardy if they get power again?” —Gary Bauer
Shot/Chaser
“The snow feels nothing like the snow we grew up with — that’s for sure. I’ve always thought this is the true purpose of NASA. Spraying chemicals and weather modification.” —Candace Owens after wondering why ice isn’t melting at 30 degrees
“As I understand it, Charlie Kirk invented a time machine, went back in time to Israel, told the Jews to invent something called Fahrenheit and set it to only melt ice at 32 degrees, and let everybody know except Candace Owens.” —Erick Erickson
ON THIS DAY in 1986, seven American astronauts perished when the space shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after liftoff from Cape Canaveral, crashing back into the Atlantic. President Ronald Reagan spoke to a grieving nation, saying, “We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them … as they prepared for the journey and waved goodbye and ‘slipped the surly bonds of earth’ to ‘touch the face of God.’”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made it clear that Hamas must be disarmed before reconstruction begins in Gaza. New details in the fatal shooting death of Alex Pretti. Overnight President Trump suggested he plans to finish the immigration crackdown job in a “de-escalated form” following the shootings in Minneapolis. On Capitol Hill, several House Republicans are uniting against what they call a dangerous Islamic ideology spreading nationwide. Students across the country are back in the classroom and many of them are missing their cell phones. “I Can Only Imagine 2” is in theaters next month. The major motion picture continues the story of Mercy Me’s Bart Millard. In this story the son is now the father. Hundreds of college students made commitments to follow Jesus Christ at a five-day gathering called the Urbana Missions Conference in Phoenix, Arizona.
Let’s step away from the news today to discuss the way we consume the news. The Guardianasks, “Are we living in a golden age of stupidity?” Here are some reasons for the question:
American high school seniors’ scores on math and reading tests have fallen to their lowest levels on record.
Dependence on AI tools erodes critical thinking skills, harms learning and creativity, and increases isolation and loneliness.
Research shows that overuse of social media, video games, and other digital platforms impairs executive functioning skills, including memory, planning, and decision-making.
Short-form videos have been conclusively linked to poorer mental health and cognition.
“Brain rot” has become such an ubiquitous term that Oxford University Press selected it as its 2024 word of the year.
Andrew Budson, a Boston University neurologist who specializes in memory disorders, explains our problem: we are using technology for the wrong purposes.
“Their brains actually shrink”
Dr. Budson reports that “our brains evolved for social interactions.” As a result, “People who become socially isolated, their brains actually shrink, even if they don’t have a disorder, and people who are socially isolated are at increased risk of developing dementia.”
I would amend his observation to say that our brains “werecreated for social interactions” by our triune God, who is relational by nature and made us in his image (Genesis 1:27). Nonetheless, Dr. Budson’s point stands: When we use technology in ways that isolate us from others, we misuse our brains. And this is by far the primary way we use technology.
Right now, I am sitting alone in my study as I type these words. You are likely reading or hearing what I write by yourself as well. Even if you watch television or a movie today in the company of others, you are unlikely to be discussing or experiencing it relationally. Earbuds and headphones intentionally block out everything else. Screens we can hold in our hands keep our hands from doing anything else.
And research emphatically shows that such isolation causes our brains to shrink, lose neuroplasticity, and otherwise decline in health and function.
So the answer is to engage more fully with the world around us, or so it would seem.
Not so fast.
“A dangerous network of domination”
Henri Nouwen warned in The Way of the Heart: “Our society is not a community radiant with the love of Christ, but a dangerous network of domination and manipulation in which we can easily get entangled and lose our souls.”
Nouwen then explained how we become so entangled:
“Compulsive” is indeed the best adjective for the false self. It points to the need for ongoing and increasing affirmation. Who am I? I am the one who is liked, praised, admired, disliked, hated, or despised. Whether I am a pianist, a businessman, or a minister, what matters is how I am perceived by my world.
If being busy is a good thing, then I must be busy. If having money is a sign of real freedom, then I must claim my money. If knowing many people proves my importance, I will have to make the necessary contacts. The compulsion manifests itself in the lurking fear of failing and the steady urge to prevent this by gathering more of the same—more work, more money, more friends.
If being isolated from the world harms our brains, but engaging with the world entangles us in its lostness, what is the way forward?
Loving a holy God is beyond our moral power. The only kind of God we can love by our sinful nature is an unholy god, an idol made by our own hands. Unless we are born of the Spirit of God, unless God sheds his holy love in our hearts, unless he stoops in his grace to change our hearts, we will not love him. . . . To love a holy God requires grace, grace strong enough to pierce our hardened hearts and awaken our moribund souls.
C. S. Lewis would have agreed. Commenting on Jesus’ sixth beatitude (Matthew 5:8), he noted: “It is safe to tell the pure in heart that they shall see God, for only the pure in heart want to.”
So, the way forward seems clear:
Recognize our need for the grace by which God changes our hearts and transfigures us with his love (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Pray for such transformation daily as we submit to the Spirit who alone can sanctify us (Ephesians 5:18; Romans 12:1).
Partner with God by refusing conformity to the world and seeking the “renewal of your mind” in Scripture, prayer, and worship (Romans 12:2).
Engage in technology and other isolating activities while in conversation with the Spirit as he guides our minds and hearts (John 14:26).
Engage in community while in conversation with the Spirit as he speaks through us to draw us closer to our Lord and thus to each other (cf. Matthew 10:20).
In short, “practice the presence of God,” as Brother Lawrence famously advised. What happens when we do?
“Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lᴏʀᴅ”
The Bible reports that “Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him” (Genesis 5:24). The Hebrew for “walked with God” could be translated, “continually conversed and traveled together with the Lord.”
The phrase is used of only one other person: “Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God” (Genesis 6:9). I think the latter explains the former: because he “walked” with God, he acquired God’s character and thus was “righteous” and “blameless.”
But an earlier reference explains them both: “Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lᴏʀᴅ” (v. 8). “Found favor” could be translated, “received grace.”
So we are back to our pathway to God’s best: receiving the grace of God leads to walking in the presence of God, which leads to being transformed into the character of God, which leads to (in Enoch’s case and ours one day) being taken into heaven with God.
Will you pray for such transforming grace now?
Quote for the day:
“A Christian is never in a state of completion but always in the process of becoming.” —Martin Luther
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