Jesus: Creator, Savior, Lord, King #74 Jesus' Commission Ascension and Immersion

 

JCSLK 74 Jesus Commission Ascension and Immersion

Text: Acts 1-2

Introduction: 7 appearances of Christ After the Resurrection

1st appearance: Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene – Mark 16:9-11, John 20:11-18

2nd appearance: Jesus sends the women to tell the disciples – Matthew 28:8-10

3rd appearance: Jesus walks the Emmaus Road – Luke 24:13-35

4th Jesus appears to His disciples (Thomas absent) – Luke 24:36-49, John 20:19-25

5th Jesus appears to Thomas and other disciples – John 20:26-29

6th Appearance By the Sea of Galilee, Peter made pastor, 1st Commission – John 21

7th Appearance Mount of Olives, 2nd Commission, Ascension – Acts 1

 Commission – Matthew 28:16–20

16 Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them. 17 And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and spoke unto them, saying, ‘All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.’ Amen.

Precepts of the Commission

There are many variations of the Commission for the church given after Jesus’ resurrection. The most detailed ones are Matthew 28:18-20 and Acts 1:30. But it is also in Mark 16:16–18; Luke 24:45–49 and John 20:21. The overall purpose of these different recordings of the commission is still the same in all the accounts.

In Matthew Jesus gives the commission to the apostles by the Sea of Galilee. These men were the first members and the leaders of the Lord’s church when it was first formed just before the Sermon on the Mount. It may be that the Sermon and this Commission were both given on the same mountain.

Let’s look at the commission in Matthew 28, which is the most detailed.

1st Precept – Go. The first precept of the great commission is not actually a command, the word “go” here is a participle, not an imperative.  What Jesus was telling us was that as you are going, carry out this commission. As you are living, as you are working, as you are traveling, in your day by day living make the Gospel a part every day.

The commission was meant to be such an integral part of living that the disciples would never think of it as something separate from the activities they would do on any given day. As they lived, as they were going in their life and wherever they were going, they were to teach about Jesus.

Now we come to the imperatives of the Great Commission. These are the commands of Christ and the marching orders for the church.

 2nd Precept / 1st Imperative “Teach all nations.”

The word for teach in the Greek language is the word matheteuo (math-ayt-yoo’-o) it means to make disciples. Jesus sent his disciples with the Gospel not just to gather professions of faith but to make disciples to follow of Him.

In keeping the great Commission, we must understand that our task is not just to get people to say a prayer of faith, not even to get a profession, even a genuine profession of faith, but to bring people to a place of commitment to Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Our task is not just to tell them about Jesus but to bring them to Jesus and see that they become his disciples, his followers.

We are not called to sugar coat the Christian life. We are not commissioned to entice people into church. We are commanded by Christ to make disciples. It is a long, no shortcut process. The command to make disciples is a process of relationship and not salesmanship.

3rd Precept / 2nd Imperative: Baptize all disciples.

Jesus then commands that we take those who have made a commitment of faith and life to Him, and then to show that commitment they are to be baptized.

Now, I know I don’t have to tell you what baptism is, but I’m going to anyway. Baptism is a portrayal by the believer that is the symbol of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is a public confession of a believer and the first step of a disciple, not just saying but showing his commitment to Jesus.

The Greek word means to dip or immerse and no other act fits the Jesus’ death and resurrection other than immersion. When a church changes baptism to make it simpler or easier then they also are changing the gospel because baptism is a living picture of the Gospel. When you change baptism you ignore the death of Christ and deny His resurrection and they disobey the Great Commission. Any group or denomination that has ever changed baptism to anything other than immersion, lost the authority of Jesus their founder and are not His church.

Baptism is essential to the Gospel and to the life of the church. It is essential because it is a confession and symbol of Jesus Christ. Romans 6:3-5 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?  Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.  For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:

It is essential because it is the means by which the church perpetuates itself.  People are brought into the church not at salvation but at Baptism. Acts 2:41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. Baptism by the authority of the church, came first and then they were counted as members.

4th Precept / 3rd Imperative: Teach All Things

This word is the word didasko (did-as’-ko) it means to teach especially through dialogue and discourse. It is not preaching or proclaiming. Instead it is an open forum and discussion of doctrine, truth and the Christian life itself. Jesus taught this way by the seashore, in synagogues, in homes or on hillsides. Everywhere he went he taught with questions and answers.

We need to take time to teach others about Jesus, our Lord and Savior and to show them all the things He showed and taught to his first church in Jerusalem. We need to teach in the way Jesus taught and teach the things he taught. If we find an outcast woman at the Jacob’s well, we must teach her someone loves her. If we find a cheating businessman like Zacheus, teach him that God is looking for him and at him. If we find a tender heart like Mary willing to sit at Jesus feet, then lay aside all other things and teach her. If you find a bunch of kids gathered round you, then teach them that God wants to make them his own little children. Teach your family, your grandkids, your friends and your neighbors. Teach them with your words, teach them with your actions and teach them with your life.

Disciple, baptize and teach! Jesus commanded us, His church, to do all of these things and without all three of these commands, the local church will die. Fulfilling the Great Commission is the assurance we have that this church and its ministry will continue long after we are gone.

Promise of The Commission - Matthew 28:20

 …lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Jesus ends the Commission at Galilee not with a declaration of his power to send us but of a with a declaration of his love to be with us.

He calls special attention to this last statement, by saying, “lo.” It is the short form of the Greek word idou and it means “behold, stop pay attention, listen and look at what I’m saying.” When Jesus uses it here, he means for the disciple to notice something special and important was about to be said.

That special saying was this promise, “I am with you alway” It is a statement that no ordinary man could make, it is another declaration of His deity. Just as He claimed omnipotence, with all authority to send the church, now as God, He claims omnipresence. He will be with His own alway.

This is the word pas in the Greek. A small three letter word, but what a meaning it has in God’s word. It means all things, all manner, all men, every man, everyone, everything and anything. It is translated whosoever and whatsoever, all way and always. In this context it means that wherever we go, whoever we meet, whatever situation we find ourselves in, Jesus, the Son of God has promised to be with every one of us along all ways, for all time, and in all places.

People of The Commission – Act 1:8

Now go to Acts 1:8 and the Commission on Mount Olivet.

Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

Jesus addresses a group of people just before He ascends into heaven. He say, “Ye.” Now here is another advantage of the KJV, they left the ye’s, the thee’s and the thou’s in the text. And we can see it here, This is the 2nd person plural of (you) esesthe in Greek. It means all of you or in East Texas, all ya'll.

So, who is the ye, the all ya’ll, Christ was speaking to? Acts 1:15 tells us there were about 120 people who were waiting in Jerusalem, gathering together as the Lord had commanded them.  It would be a valid assumption to think that those same people on the Day of Pentecost were also the same 120 in the same city that Jesus, during his ascension, told to remain in Jerusalem until they received power after the Holy Spirit came upon them.

So, the “you” of this commission was the church, grown from that initial 12, now minus Judas and with those were 120 disciples of Jesus Christ.

The Lord’s church is commissioned on the mountain of Galilee and it is commissioned again on the Mount of Olives. That commission has been passed down generation by generation, church by church to all the Lord’s true churches until today. It is the same church today that Jesus promised then He would empower and perpetuate. Promising that even the gates of Hell would not overcome it. This should be understood in three ways.

So the people of the commission is us, Calvary Baptist church 1125 East Corsicana in Athens, Texas. Next let’s see the power of the commission.

Purpose of the Commission

Act 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you and ye shall be witnesses unto me… The purpose that Jesus gives his church, is to bear witness of him and for Him. To give testimony as a witness of who He was, is and will be. To tell the world who Jesus is historically, biblically and especially personally.

The word, witness, comes from the Greek work martus. It means one who can testify or tell what they have seen, heard or know. This is also the word transliterated into English from which we get the word martyr. This is the ultimate act of testimony and being a witness as a martyr  seals and proves the truth of testimony by the death of the one who testifies.

Power of the Commission

Being a witness is no easy task. It is so important and critical that it would not be possible except through the promise of power Jesus gave. “You shall receive power after the Holy Ghost is come upon you.” This would happen in Jerusalem about 10 days after Jesus’ ascension. It was on that day that power to carry the Gospel was bestowed on the church.

The commission was given to His church, and then empowered by His gift of the Holy Spirit. No other institution has the authority, no other institution has the power, no other institution has the promise of His presence except the church of Jesus Christ.

There is one last consideration for us to understand in Acts 1:8 and that is the scope of the commission, where it was to take place.

Place of The Commission

Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth

Jesus said they were to be witnesses of him both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, in Samaria and to then to the uttermost.

Jerusalem was where the first church was located. If you walked down the street where the upper room was found you might have seen a sign that said, “1st Independent Baptist Church of the World.” And they were, weren’t they? They were Baptist because they immersed, they were independent because they were the only ones around and they were the first because they were the very first church. And always remember, the Lord founded a church not an association, a convention and certainly not a denomination.

So the 1st Independent Baptist Church was in Jerusalem, that was their starting point, but Jesus told them it was not to be their final destination. They were to also go throughout Judea. This was their state or region inside the Roman Empire. They were also to go to Samaria. The was the country to the north, a place the Jews avoided because they historically didn’t like the people who lived there.

And just in case they didn’t fully understand what Jesus envisioned, he told them, you shall be my witnesses to the uttermost part of the earth, to the ends of the earth, to the farthest kingdoms and nations around the world. They had no idea just how big that final clause of the commission would turn out to be, but Jesus knew and he had already given them the order, the power and His building of that first local church that would make “unto the uttermost” not only possible but even common place. 

This infant church that day on the Mount of Olives could not know that one day explorers would cross the great ocean, discover a new world filled with pagans and savages but when it did happen the church knew they must send send the Gospel, that had been preached in Jerusalem 1000s of years before. You and I were some of those savages that Jesus sent through the church sent the Gospel. And aren’t you glad you’re no longer a savage? Or at least a saved savage.

Now its our turn to obey that commission. Our Jerusalem is Athens, our Judea is Texas and our Samaria all the states around us. We need to supporting church sent missionaries to our state and nation. My Grandfather, Van George was a church planter in Cooper, Texas. He used to say, “Foreign missions will fail, unless home missions prevails.” We need to support home missionaries as much as foreign missions. Right now we only have missionaries in Hawaii, Cincinnati and Wisconsin. We need more.

For us the uttermost is the rest of the world. Praise God for the Hollands, in Papua New Guinea, the Lotts, in Guatemala; the Nomuras in Japan; the Norbergs, who have just returned from South Africa; the Thomases, in Costa Rica; the White families in Germany; the Rivases in Amazing Grace Children's Home – Mexico; the Anderssons in Sweden, and the Rosenbalms, in Ghana.

These are the supported and prayed for missions of Calvary Baptist Church. We should never cease to thank God for allowing us to share in this eternal, glorious work and we should ask God for forgiveness if we are not personally involved in sending the light by witnessing ourselves and by giving above our tithe to missions here and around the world. This is the Lord’s command. This the Lord’s commission to His church.

 Ascension – Acts 1:1-5

1 The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, 2 Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen: 3 To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God: 4 And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. 5 For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. Standing On Mt. Olivet

Forty days after the resurrection and ten days before the Day of Pentecost, which was the 50th day after Passover, Jesus walks with His church toward Bethany to the top of the Mount of Olives. This is where the triumphal entry had started just six weeks earlier (Acts 1:12).

Now as they gather round, Jesus gives His final instructions to the apostles, the disciples, His first church. The Bible says once again He lifts up his hands and blesses them, the final act of his earthly ministry.

While in that act of blessing, Jesus begins to ascend toward heaven, back to His Father’s throne room, back to own throne at the Father’s right hand. Once again Jesus has astounded them. They knew that Jesus could heal, cast out demons, walk on water, walk through locked doors, but this is incredible. As they watch Jesus is taken up and disappears into a cloud.

There are hundreds of thousands songs written about Jesus birth, tens of thousands about His death and resurrection but very few about His ascension. Yet it is just as important.

Important because it fulfills OT prophecy Psalms 110:1 The LORD said unto my Lord,
Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.

Important because it show the completion of Jesus work on earth and his exhultation in heaven. Philippians 2:9-11 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

It important because though His work on earth was done, Jesus’ work in heaven could begin. Romans 8:34 34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.

Hebrews 4:14 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.

 Important because the Holy Spirit would come only after Jesus’ ascension John 16:7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.

And so Jesus goes away just as scripture prophesied and just as He said he would. He rises from the earth that He had walked for a little more than 30 years and goes back into the heavens where He has dwelt for all eternity. Acts 1:9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.

That cloud was probably not a normal cloud, but instead it was the symbol of the Shekinah glory of God, which was seen in the Exodus, leading the Hebrews and filling the tabernacle. It was seen when Solomon finished the Temple. It filled those places and drove the high priests out. And it will be seen again soon.

Acts 1:10-11 And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; 11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.

We don’t know when the angels appeared, it seems the church is so caught up in watch Jesus being caught up that the miss the angels appearing. Finally the angels call attention to themselves. Once again just as it was at the empty tomb, is two angels who appear as men, but dressed in shining white. The angels speak up and tell them why are you still looking up into the sky? Jesus has left but He will come back in the same way.

Both the Old Testament and the Book of Revelation tells us that Jesus will come back leading the army of heaven, riding a white horse and will touch down on the exact spot, the Mount of Olives where He had just ascended from.

But the concern of that first church was not to stand around watching and waiting but to get going and obey the Commission they had just been given again.

 Standing In Calvary Baptist Church

It is the same for our church today. We are to be committed to the Commission given us by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He’s coming back but that is in His own time, our time must be filled with the work He has left us to do.

One last event I want to cover and its in …

 Immersion - Acts 2:1-4

1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

The Day of Pentecost

The church is waiting in a house in Jerusalem for the promised gift of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, the Advocate, the empowerer, the Paracletos. The one called alongside to help.

Then it happens, a wind fills the house, flickers of flame descend on each one of them and they are filled with the Holy Spirit and begin speaking in languages other than their own. This is not an ordinary wind, it is the Holy Spirit, this is no ordinary fire it is the New Testament  Shekinah Glory of God.

On the Day of Pentecost, the church was baptized in the Holy Spirit by it founder, Jesus Christ. To be baptized is to be immersed. Jesus immersed His church in the Holy Spirit to show the world that this now was His house of witness. As God in the Old Testament had filled the Tabernacle and the Temple with the Shekinah glory, Jesus was now doing in the New Testament. Just as the Tabernacle and the Temple were God’s houses of witness in the Old Testament, now the church was His House of Witness in the New Covenant.

This is what John the Baptist said, Matthew 3:11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost…

The great difference here is that the people were driven out from the presence of God, they were indwelt with His presence. This was because the church is not a building of God but instead it is the people of God assembled together to worship Him. What a miracle, what a blessing, what a responsibility.

The baptism of the Holy Spirit occurred once, and once only. It was the baptism of the church not of individuals. Jesus baptized only one time and that was His church on the Day of Pentecost. He immersed the church in the Holy Spirit and empowered the church to be witnesses, to carry out His commission. Now under the authority of the commission and in that power of the Holy Spirit we must still strive to be witnesses unto Him.

Conclusion

Waiting and Working

I want us to leave today with the words of the angels that morning on the mount of Olives. I’m going to update it just a bit, “You men and women of Calvary Baptist Church, why are you standing around looking up into heaven? Jesus, this very same Jesus, which was taken up from you into heaven, shall come back in the same way as went.”

Their point then and now is also the same, quit looking and start working. He is coming back of that there is no doubt, now work that when He comes, we will greet Him with the fruit of  labors, the fulfillment of His commission.