Search The Scriptures: Matthew's Gospel

MATTHEW

Jesus was also called Emmanuel (Matthew 1:23). Emmanuel means ‘God with us.’ This is the great message that comes to us from the first chapter of the New Testament. God has not remained in heaven. He has come to earth. Along with the Name, Emmanuel, there is the better – known Name – Jesus. The Name of Jesus means “He saves” (Matthew 1:21,25). In the two Names – Emmanuel and Jesus, we have the Good News of our salvation. God has come to earth – that’s the meaning of the Name, Emmanuel. He has come to save us – that’s the meaning of the Name, Jesus.

The wise men did want to worship Jesus (Matthew 2:2). Herod said that he wanted to worship Jesus (Matthew 2:8). What a difference there is between saying that we want to worship Jesus and really wanting to worship Him. This highlights the conflict between false religion and true worship. Religion may say the right things, but, if we don’t really mean what we say, our words will not make any difference to the way we live. This kind of religion is worthless. What does God say to us about this kind of religion? – “God warned them in a dream not to go back to Herod” (Matthew 2:12). God is still warning His people to steer clear of empty religion. When we come to the Lord, we must not come with empty words – words that we don’t really mean. Our worship is to shape our life. How is our worship to change our way of living? Real worship arises out of salvation. This is very different from religion. Religion says more about ourselves than it says than it says about our Saviour. Salvation is not about us. It’s about Jesus, our Saviour. When He is the focus of our attention, we will learn to worship Him and live for Him. 

As the story of Christ’s becoming one of us – His birth – moves on towards the story of His dying in our place – His crucifixion, the story of His baptism is a significant step forward. Jesus identifies with us. He stands in the place of the sinner. John the Baptist said to Jesus, “I need to be baptized by You. Why are You coming to me?” (Matthew 3:14). Jesus was doing everything that God required of Him – everything that needed to be done for sinners to be saved. The chief focus is on His death for us – “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). We do, however, need to look back from His crucifixion to His birth and His baptism. In His birth, we see the sovereign purpose of God. In His baptism, we see the definite choice made by Jesus. In salvation, there is the work of God, and there is our response. God reveals Himself to us through His Son: “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). We respond to God’s revelation and redemption when we put our trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, when we look away from ourselves – sinners – to Jesus Christ, the Saviour of sinners, “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).

Jesus’ victory over Satan in the wilderness (Matthew 4) must be seen in the broader context of His work of salvation. This was more than just a personal victory – a victory for Jesus. It was a victory for us. Jesus won the victory for us. He walked in the way of victory so that we might live in the power of His victory. After Jesus had won the victory over Satan, He called His disciples to Him – “Come, follow Me!” – and He sent them out from Him, empowered by Him, to be witnesses for Him – “fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19). His victory was more than a victory for His first disciples. It was a victory for all would become believers through their witness. This includes all of us, since each one of us has come to faith in Christ through the testimony of His apostles. When Jesus sent them out, He did more than send them. He showed them what they were to do (Matthew 4:23-25).

Jesus’ words, known as “the Sermon  on the Mount” (Matthew 5-7), need to be taken as a whole. We’re not to pick out the bits that we like, and ignore the bits that we don’t like so much. We’re not to come, looking for “comfort” (Matthew 5:4), if we’re not also seeking for “righteousness” (Matthew 5:6). We’re not to look for peace, if we’re not preparing ourselves for persecution (Matthew 5:9-10). We’re not to read one verse, and say, “This is great”, and then skim over the next verse, as if it wasn’t even there.

We’re called to be “salt for the earth” and “light for the world” (Matthew 5:13-14). How can we be “salt” and “light” in a world that has turned its back on the things that matter most in life? Can we do this by “setting aside Moses’ teaching or the Prophets” (Matthew 5:17)? No! Jesus says, “No.” He says, ‘This is what we must never do. We cannot preserve true Christian living, if we set aside the Word of the Lord. A stripped-down ethic, which changeable from one generation to another, is no substitute for a Christian that is grounded in the Word of God, which is unchanged, unchanging and unchangeable. Who are we come to the Word of God with the attitude that we can decide that there are some things that are “unimportant” (Matthew 5:19)? When God calls something important, we must also say, ‘This is important.’ It’s not to be changed because it doesn’t fit in with our modern outlook. Sometimes, people disregard what God’s Word says because they think that they have the right, to say, ‘This is important. That is unimportant.’ When we say this kind of thing, what are we really saying? We’re saying, ‘I am more important than God. I know better than God.” Such an attitude can have no place in the hearts of those who want, through their lives, to “praise their Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).  

“You have heard that it was said … But I say to you … ” (Matthew 5:21-22,27-28,31-32,33-34, 38-39,43-44). When we see the great contrast between what has been said in the past and what Jesus says to His generation and our generation, we must remember Jesus’ words, “Don’t ever think that I came to set aside Moses; teachings or the Prophets” (Matthew 5:17). What does Jesus mean? Clearly, He doesn’t just repeat what’s already been said. Jesus says, “I didn’t come to set them aside but to make them come true” (Matthew 5:17). Jesus doesn’t contradict the Old Testament. He brings out its deeper meaning. He reveals its fuller meaning. Jesus is expounding the Word of God. He enables His hearers to see things in a new light – but He doesn’t do this by setting aside God’s Word. The Word of God stands – for every generation. It is not to be tampered with. It’s to be upheld. At the heart of upholding God’s Word, there’s a very real question we must ask, “What are you saying to us, Lord, here-and-now?”

Jesus speaks about prayer (Matthew 6:5-15), doing good works (Matthew 6:1-4) and fasting (Matthew 6:16-18). He emphasizes that we’re not to be like the hypocrites (Matthew 6:2,5,16). Sometimes, it is difficult to work out where Jesus is leading us with. In Acts, there’s a strong emphasis on God’s people praying together. In Matthew 6:6, Jesus is emphasizing the importance of praying “in secret.” Is there something about us that leads us in the direction of hypocrisy whenever we are praying with others? We find the same emphasis in Jesus’ teaching about doing good and fasting. – “Make sure that you don’t become like the hypocrites.” When we move into the public sphere, we run the risk of hypocrisy. We must never forget this – and we must pray that God will deliver us from hypocrisy.

The values of our Lord Jesus Christ, Gospel values, Kingdom values are very different from the world’s values. It’s the difference between “treasures on earth” and “treasures in heaven” (Matthew 6:19-20). When we treasure the things of earth, we will worry about the things of earth. Jesus says that we are not to worry about these things. We are to have a higher priority than ‘looking after No. 1′. We’re to be concerned about “God’s Kingdom and what has His approval”  (Matthew 6:33). When the things that matter most to God are not the things that matter most to us, other things will take over our lives. What matters most to you? This is what Jesus is asking us. Are the things that matter most to God becoming the things that matter most to us? 

Jesus calls us to be both holy and loving. We need both – holiness and love. We’re not to be hypocrites who’ve given up on holiness. We’re not to be content with keeping up appearances. We’re to seek holiness of heart. This is the heart of holiness. We’re not to be hypocrites who show no love for other people. How can we have much love for God if we don’t have much love for other people? A life that’s centred on ourselves is very different from a life that’s centred on Christ. A life that’s being shaped by Christ’s love will be a life of receiving His love and sharing His love. He’s teaching us how much He loves us. He’s helping us to show His love to other people.

Jesus calls us to be both holy and loving. What will it mean to live a life that is becoming both more holy and more loving? It begins with being reached by the love of God and changed by the love of God. We cannot make ourselves more holy. We cannot make ourselves more loving. When we catch a glimpse of the great God, who is both holy loving, we see ourselves as we really are – sinners, and we also see the Saviour who is reaching out to us, the Saviour who can and will change us. How does he change us? He shows us our sin. He forgives our sin. Seeing our sin as it really is, we cannot be, like the Pharisee who looked down his nose at the tax collector (Luke 18:11). Seeing our Saviour as He really is, we know that there is hope for every one who comes to the Saviour. We have His precious promise – “I will never turn away anyone who comes to  Me” (John 6:37). When the love of Christ reaches us, we rejoice in this: “Every offender who truly believes, that moment from Jesus a pardon receives.” Thankful to the Lord for His love, which has reached us, we pray that His love will change us. We pray that we will become more like Jesus – more holy and more loving. We will say, ‘Lord, Your love has reached us. May Your love change us. May your love inspire us to live a life that is pleasing to you – a life of holiness, a life of love.’ We cannot change ourselves. We need to be changed by the Lord. Let us pray for His help. Let us pray that He will fill us with His love. This is where true  holiness comes from. It comes from the love of God, reaching us. It comes from the love of God, changing us. The love of God – This is the real power that lies behind a life of holiness and love. We need more holiness. We need more love. These are not things that we can reach out and grasp for ourselves. We must always look away from ourselves to the Lord – “How much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him?” (Matthew 7:12).

The choices that we make while we are here on earth will decide whether we will spend eternity with him or apart from Him. This is the message of Matthew 7:13-14. “False prophets … vicious wolves” will seek to lead us away from the Lord (Matthew 7:15-16). We must pray that the Lord will deliver us from paying lip-service to Him without living our whole life for Him (Matthew 7:21-23). How are we to live for the Lord? – We must hear His Word and obey it (Matthew 7:24). Obedience to God’s Word begins with hearing His Word. Hearing God’s Word leads to obeying His Word. May God help us to build on Christ, always receiving His Word as the Word that speaks to us with His authority.

In Matthew 8:1-17, we see Jesus’ healing ministry. There are three miracles – healing people who were suffering from “a skin disease” (Matthew 8:1-4), paralysis (Matthew 8:5-13) and “a fever” (Matthew 8:14-15). After these three miracles, we have a more general statement about the ministry of casting out demons (Matthew 8:16-17). This is followed by Matthew 8:18 – “Now, when Jesus saw a crowd around Him, He ordered His disciples to cross to the other side of the Sea of Galilee.” Jesus was moving from place to place, taking His ministry to more people. 

In Matthew 8:19-34, we learn about discipleship (Matthew 8:19-22), peace (Matthew 8:23-27) and deliverance (Matthew 8:28-34). How sad it is that this chapter ends with these words: “Everyone from the city went to meet Jesus. When they saw Him, they begged him to leave their territory” (Matthew 8:34). If it had ended with the words, “Everyone went out to meet Jesus”, we would say, “Wonderful! We want more of this.” When this is followed by the sentence, “When they saw Him, they begged Him to leave their territory”, we sense that we are in the presence of something solemn, even something sinister. What we have here is the activity of Satan. Even when the Lord is working powerfully, Satan is also at work, seeking to hinder the work of God, creating resistance in the hearts of those who have begun to show an initial interest in Jesus. Satan gets worried. Hr does everything he can to prevent people moving from seeking to finding. Let us take our stand against Satan. Let us take our stand in the Name of Christ. Let us take our stand in the power of Christ.

We read, in Matthew 9:2, of the forgiveness of sins. This is followed, in Matthew 9:6, by the words that brought healing to the paralyzed man. When we read about Jesus’ healing miracles, we must also remember the healing that comes to us through the forgiveness of our sins. The healing of our lives begins here. From this beginning – the forgiveness of our sins, we move on to the healing of our lives, which takes place when we look to the Lord to take the brokenness of our lives and put everything back together again. This is followed by Matthew’s own story. He receives the forgiveness of his sins. From the conversion of Matthew, the message that comes to us is this: Jesus “came to call sinners” (Matthew 9:13).  We come to Jesus – with our sins. We receive from Him – our salvation. At the heart of our salvation is this great message: God does more for us than forgiving our sins. He gives us new life – described here as “new wine” (Matthew 9:17).

In Matthew 9:18-38, we read about Jesus’ healing ministry. At the end of Matthew 9, there’s a reminder to us that the Lord’s work is to be carried on by His followers – “The harvest is large, but the workers are few. So ask the Lord who gives this harvest to send workers to harvest His crops” (Matthew 9:37-38). Jesus wasn’t saying, ‘Look at what I am doing and see how great I am.” He was saying, ‘Look at what I am doing and learn from Me – learn how to see the crowds with compassion, to see them in their trouble, to see how helpless they are – “like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36). we are to be looking at Jesus and learning from Him. We are to be looking at the world and seeing how we can serve the world for Jesus’ sake (2 Corinthians 4:5).

“Don’t go among people who are not Jewish …” (Matthew 10:5). The time for reaching out to the Gentiles had not yet come. After Jesus’ resurrection, the Good News of His love and His salvation were to be taken to “the ends of the earth” (Mark 16:15; Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8). This ministry was to be carried out in the power of the Holy Spirit – “The Spirit of your Father will be speaking through you” (Matthew 10:20). This was to continue after Jesus’ ascension (Acts 1:8; Acts 2:3). If we are to speak for the Lord, He must be our “Teacher” (Matthew 10:24). The Lord teaches us, and we are to teach others – “Teach and make disciples” (Matthew 28:18-20).

In Matthew 11, we learn, from Jesus the Saviour, about John the Baptist. From the warnings given by Jesus to Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum, we learn of the urgency of the Word of the Lord. The highlight of Matthew 11 is found in verse 28 – “Come to Me, all who are tired from carrying heavy loads, and I will give you rest.”

“It is right to do good on the day of worship” (Matthew 12:12). Why did Jesus have authority over the day of worship? It was because of who He is. He is worshipped. Jesus fulfils prophecy (Mathew 12:17-21). He has authority over Satan (Matthew 12:28). The victory of Jesus over Satan becomes ours when we receive God’s Word, with humble faith, as “the sword of the Spirit.” This speaks of the work of the Spirit in and through the Word. The Spirit leads us to Jesus. He leads us out for Jesus. Jesus is risen from the dead (Matthew 12:40), Let us serve Him and be His true family (Matthew 12:50).

In Matthew 13, we see Jesus, the Storyteller. His stories are ordinary stories – with an extraordinary message. The stories are human. The message is divine. They are stories about people. They are stories about God. Following on from Jesus’ parables, we have His return to “His hometown” (Matthew 13:54). The people were “amazed” at His teaching (Matthew 13:54), They did not, however, look for a divine explanation. They looked at Jesus in a human way. They said that He shouldn’t be able to speak like this. They denied Him the right to speak with divine authority. They did not hear and receive what He said to them. What did Jesus say about them? “The only place a prophet isn’t honoured is in his hometown and in his own house” (Matthew 13:57). What was the result of their refusal to recognize Jesus’ authority? His power was not released among them: “He didn’t work many miracles there because of their lack of faith” (Matthew 13:58).

Jesus the Saviour is greater than John the Baptist (Matthew 14:1-12). Jesus does more than proving physical food. He is the Bread  of Life (Matthew 14:13-21). Jesus has power over nature (Matthew 14:22-36) – because He is “the Son of God, Look, the Lamb” (Matthew 14:33). We look beyond John to Jesus. John pointed away from himself to Jesus, “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).  Jesus is our Saviour. Let us praise Him for all that He is, all that He has done for us and all that He has given to us.

The Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus with a question: “Why do your disciples break the traditions of our ancestors …?” (Matthew 15:2). Jesus answered them with another question: “Why do you break the commandments of God because of your traditions?” (Matthew 15:3). Their question was shallow. His question was deep. They were concerned with external observance of human traditions. He directed their attention to something far important – heartfelt obedience to God’s Word. We are  not to honour God with our lips, while our hearts remain far from Him.

“Be careful! Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees!” (Matthew 17:6). Even after there is divine revelation (Matthew 16:17), the influence of evil can be felt (Matthew 16:23)., The warning – “Be careful! Watch out … !” must never be forgotten. Satan is looking for an opportunity to leads us away from the Lord. We must hear what Jesus is saying to us about discipleship (Matthew 16:24), and we must commit  ourselves to Him (Matthew 16:25). There is nothing more important than this (Matthew 16:26). If we are to be true followers of Jesus, we must learn to live our lives in the light of eternity (Matthew 16:27). We are to seek revelations of God’s eternal Kingdom, revelations which will send us back, from the mountain-top, to live each day for Jesus.

“They saw no one but Jesus” (Matthew 17:8). Everyone else is secondary. Jesus is the central theme. “Nothing will be impossible for you” (Matthew 17:21). We must not think according to human expectations. We must let the Word of God inspire us to accomplish great things for God and His Kingdom. May we never forget to give great glory to God. “The disciples became sad” (Matthew 17:23), because they did not understand. What god gives to us is greater than we can imagine. Let us praise Him.

Learning from children and caring for children: This is what Jesus speaks about in Matthew 18:1-10. We should never act like we know it all, and have nothing more to learn. We should never act like we’re a law unto ourselves. We must do all that we can to protect little children in a world that has so many dangers. We need little children. They have something to teach us. Little children need us. they need the protection that we, adults, can give to them.

“The Son of Man came to save the lost” (Matthew 18:11). In Matthew 18:12-1, Jesus speaks about sheep. He’s really speaking about us. He is the Shepherd. We are His sheep. Sheep wander away from the shepherd. We wander away from the Lord. The shepherd looks for the lost sheep. Jesus has come to seek for us and find us. He brings  us home to God, our Father. Through His saving grace, we receive new life – a life  in which we rejoice in our great Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. He delivers us from the condemnation, which our sin has brought upon us. He brings us into the knowledge of His forgiveness. This Gospel of salvation changes us. It teaches us to live in the power of God’s love.

Jesus speaks about “the Kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 19:12,23), “the Kingdom of God” (Matthew 19:14,24) and “eternal life” (Matthew 19:29).  Jesus’ way of thinking and living is so very different from the world’s way of thinking and living. He challenges us to think His way and live his way.

“The last will be first, and the first will be last” (Matthew 20:16). This is the reversal of the world’s values. This is grace – not works. The way in which grace reaches us is through Christ’s death and resurrection  (Matthew 20:17-19). When we hear the Gospel – Jesus “came to serve and gave His life as a ransom for many people” (Matthew 20:28), our eyes are opened to see who Jesus really is and to understand what He has done for us, and we follow Him (Matthew 20:34).

In Matthew 21:1-22, we learn that Jesus is a very different King from the kings of this world. He is the King of love. There is no tyranny, no dictatorship, no reign of terror. Alongside His love, there is His holiness. We see this in the cleansing of the Temple. He is looking for us to be fruitful. This is the lesson of the cursed fig tree. May God help us to be fruitful – in holiness and in love.

In Matthew 21:23-46, we learn that the authority of Jesus is heard in His words and seen in His actions. He speaks of grace. He lives by grace. Jesus is the foundation of our salvation. Without Him, there is no salvation. With Him, we are greatly blessed. What a great Saviour He is!

What variety there is in Matthew 22 – a story about a wedding reception, a question about taxes, the dead come back to life, love God and your neighbour, how can David’s son be David’s Lord? When we read the Gospels, we must allow the Lord Jesus to speak to us on all the subjects that He brings to us. We are not to select our favourite passages and ignore the other passages. If we only read the parts we like, we are not really listening to the Lord. He has so much to say to us. Lord, give us a listening ear.

In Matthew 23, we have a devastating protest against hypocrisy. What is a protest against hypocrisy? It’s a protest for holiness. God is calling us to be holy. He is saying to us that we must never be content with hypocrisy. God has something better for us. The way of holiness begins with welcoming the Saviour. Our faith and life are grounded in Him – “Blessed is the One who comes in the Name of the Lord” (Matthew 23:39). Jesus inspires our worship. He gives us strength for living.

Why does Jesus speak to us about the end-times? – He is encouraging us to “endure to the end” (Matthew 24:13). We cannot endure to the end without the grace of God: “If God does not reduce the number of those days, no one will be saved” (Matthew 24:22). God’s Word tells us that we are to “keep ourselves in the love of God” (Jude 21). It also tells us that we are kept, in the love of God, by the power of God – the power of His love (Jude 24).

Jesus speaks about the end-times: “The earth and heaven will disappear.” He also speaks about something that will never come to an end: “My words will never disappear” (Matthew 24:35). In all of life’s changing circumstances, we must hold on to this great truth: God’s Word is forever.

Whenever the end-times are spoken of, many strange things are said. People speak as if they know it all. The more they say, the more they show that they don’t know it all. We need to make sure that we keep listening to what God’s Word says to us. This will keep us from being deceived by people who make things up as they go along. The main thing that Jesus says to us is this:  “you must be ready because the Son of Man will return when you least expect Him” (Matthew 24:44).

Matthew 25 begins with the words, "When the end comes" (Matthew 25:1), and ends with the words, "eternal life" (Matthew 25:46). Often, we might wish that this was all that the Word of God says  about "the end" - "eternal life." This is not all that is said. Jesus also speaks to us about eternal loss (Matthew 25:11-12,30,41,46). The choices that determine eternal loss and eternal life are being made here-and-now. Each one of us must decide whether we will be like the wise bridesmaids or the foolish bridesmaids. By our way of life, here on earth, we will show whether we are "good and faithful servants" or "useless servants." Our response to the Lord will be seen in our response to other people (Matthew 25:40). Live for the Lord now. Live with Him in eternity.

"At that time, the Son  of Man will be handed over to be crucified" (Matthew 26:2). Jesus was not taken by surprise. He knew what He was letting Himself in for. He knew why He had come to earth. He knew what He had come to do. He knew the purpose of His life. "You will not always have Me with you. She poured this perfume on My body before it is placed in a tomb" (Matthew 26:11-12). Jesus was under no illusions about what lay ahead of Him. He had come to die. The time of His crucifixion was drawing near - and He knew it. Immediately after He speaks about His tomb, He speaks about the "Good News" being "spoken  in the world" (Matthew 26:13). He knew the connection between the two - His death and the Good News. He died for us. This is the Good News of God's love.

In Matthew 26:14-35, we read about Judas, Peter and Jesus. Judas betrayed Jesus - but Jesus knew all about it before it happened. Jesus knew what was going on behind the scenes with Judas. Peter denied Jesus. Again, Jesus knew that this was going to happen. Between Jesus' identification of Judas and Peter as the men who would betray Him and deny Him, there is the Lord's Supper. How wonderful this is - we hear  about human failure (sin), and we also hear about our Saviour's sacrifice for the salvation of sinners.

"Father, if this cup cannot be taken away unless I drink it, let Your will be done" (Matthew 26:42). Jesus was not just a passive victim of circumstances. He embraced the will of God, his loving, heavenly Father. He saw what needed to be done, and He said, 'I will do it.' He said, 'I will give Myself in death so that sinners might be forgiven and live eternally in the heavenly glory of God's Kingdom.

"All of this happened so that what the prophets have written would come true" (Matthew 26:56). "The Son of Man will be coming on the clouds of heaven" (Matthew 26:64). Here, we have looking back to what came before and looking forward to what lies ahead. If we are  to avoid becoming like Peter, who denied Jesus (Matthew 26:69-75), we need this big perspective on Jesus. He is much more than a man, more than a prophet, more than a good example. he came from heaven. He returned to heaven. He will come, again, from heaven. When we keep before our eyes what the Scriptures teach us about Jesus, we will not be taken in by those who reduce Jesus to the human level. We will, always by the grace of God, stand up for Jesus, lifting Him up as the perfect Son of God and the perfect Saviour of sinners.

"Thirty silver coins" (Matthew 27:3,9) - Jesus' enemies paid the price to Judas. Jesus paid the price for us. Thank God for Jesus. His sacrifice for sin was worth much more than the money paid to Judas by Jesus' enemies. His sacrifice of Himself for our salvation was the only way in which the price could be paid. Jesus took our sin upon Himself so that we might receive God's salvation - as a free gift.

"Jesus said absolutely nothing in him in reply, so the governor was very surprised" (Matthew 27:14). Jesus had not come to escape death. He had come to die. Pilate was surprised. He did not understand. This was not the normal response. Jesus could not be understood according to the thinking of other people. He was a special person. He had a special purpose. He was heading to the Cross. The place of His suffering was to become the place of our salvation. Thank You, Jesus.

"The release of Barabbas and the execution of Jesus" (Matthew 27:20) - In this, we catch a glimpse of  the meaning of Christ's death. The sinless Saviour dies for the guilty sinner. "He saved others, but he can't save himself" (Matthew 27:42. The two are  connected. He saves others by sacrificing Himself. "My God, my God, why have You abandoned Me?" (Matthew 27:46). This is Jesus, taking our place, bearing our sin. "The curtain in the temple was split in two, from top to bottom" (Matthew 27:51). Notice the direction. The barrier to our coming into God's presence is removed from above. It is the work of God. It is His doing. Glory to the Lord!

Securing the tomb - That's what they tried to do. Raising the dead - That's what God did. "He's not here. He has been brought back to life, as He said" (Matthew 28:6). What a tremendous turnaround! What, to man, is impossible, becomes reality through the power of God. "Don't be afraid! Go, tell My followers to go to Galilee. There, they will see Me" (Matthew 28:10). The first revelation of the risen Lord - It's for His followers, but they're not to keep the Good News to themselves. This is for us. We're to bring Jesus and His love to more and more people. We do not go to people in our name. We go with the "authority" of Jesus, our Lord (Matthew 28:18-20). He is with us "until the end of time."