Drew Boswell

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“Three Witnesses to The Resurrection” Matthew 28:1-20

Three Witnesses to The Resurrection

Matthew 28:1-20 

Introduction

The British minister, W. E. Sangster, began to lose his voice and mobility in the mid-1950s. He had a disease that caused progressive muscular atrophy. He recognized the end was near, so he threw himself into writing and praying. In the midst of his suffering he pleaded, “Let me stay in the struggle, Lord. I don’t mind if I can no longer be a general, but give me just a regiment to lead.”

Sangster’s voice eventually failed completely, and his legs became useless. On Easter morning just a few weeks before his death, he took a pen and shakily wrote his daughter a letter. In it he said, “It is terrible to wake up on Easter morning and have no voice with which to shout, ‘He is risen!’—but it would be still more terrible to have a voice and not want to shout.”[1]

Prayer

The Women (vv. 1-10)

Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. 2 And behold, there was a great earthquake[2], for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. 4 And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men.

(v. 1) “Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb” – “the verb means to behold, as a spectacle;[3] They designed also, if it should appear practicable and appropriate, to ‘anoint him’ (Mark 16:1), and brought with them spices (Luke 24:1) which they had provided the evening before, when the Sabbath was past (Mark). As they went (Mark 16:3) they were concerned about the question, “Who will roll the stone away?” for they knew from the internment that “it was exceedingly great.”[4]

Sometime before the women’s arrival an angel “descended from heaven,” rolled the stone away, and was sitting on it when they arrived. Accompanying the angel’s descent was an earthquake. And their appearance “like lightning, and his clothing white as snow” and arrival “earthquake and descending from heaven” caused the Roman soldiers who stood guard to passed out from fear. It says, “the guards trembled” – It has the same Greek root as earthquake. The ground shook, and the soldiers shook.

 Cornelius Lapide says, “The earth, which trembled with sorrow at the Death of Christ as it were leaped for joy at His Resurrection.”[5]

5 But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.”

(v. 6) “He is not here,” We are not given any details about the resurrection itself, only that by the time the women arrived, Jesus was not there. “The stone was not rolled aside to let Jesus out but to let the women in.”[6] How Jesus escaped we don’t know.

(v. 7) “he is going before you to Galilee” – This does not mean that they will not see him before Galilee, but “that on a certain mountain in Galilee was to be the great meeting, where many disciples should receive the Great Commission,”[7] Even at the tomb, this is not the end of Jesus’ ministry. He is still pointing people toward redemption, salvation, and purpose.

Matthew 26:32 “But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.”

People respond in different ways to angels and their messages. John the Baptist’s father when approached by an angel doubted, In Luke 1:18-20 “And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” 19 And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 20 And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.” But the women believe what the angel says, because it matches up with what Jesus had already told them, and they depart quickly.

8 So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”

The women departed with their instructions to tell what they had seen and experienced and it was “with fear and great joy.” We will see that when we draw close to things of God, there will be a combination of fear and joy. They had the greatest news that was possible to have. To them “anything seemed possible now.”[8]

It was while they were hurrying to honor the Savior and bring joy to his disciples, that they met Jesus. If we want to have an encounter with Jesus, then we should run to do good to others and bring joy to the body of Christ.

(v. 9) “took hold of his feet and worshiped him” – “held him, literally seized him or grasped, showing great humility and veneration.”[9]

The angel says, “tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead,” but Jesus says, “go and tell my brothers” – this is a distinct difference between mankind and angels. While we were made “a little lower than the angels (Hebrews 2:7),” we are “co-heirs with Christ”, and they are not (Romans 8:17). Jesus calls those who have denied Him, abandoned Him, and forsaken Him for dead, “brothers.” Jesus as the Creator of everything, gives His life for His creation so that we may be together as family.

God described Himself to us as Father, Jesus reveals Himself to us as brother, Paul uses the Greek word for love “Philadelphia” as the love that Christians have for each other (brothers and sisters in Christ). God created the world and established the family, Paul establishes the church family, and at the end of time we will be gathered to heaven and live together in eternity with our heavenly Father as a family.

The angel tells them to go to Galilee, Jesus himself says to go to Galilee – something very important is going to happen at Galilee.

The Guard (vv. 11-15)

11 While they were going, behold, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place. 12 And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers 13 and said, “Tell people, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.[10]’ 14 And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” 15 So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jews to this day.

The soldiers saw with their own eyes the angel descend and roll away the stone, and even before they collapsed in fear may have even seen the risen Lord. Then they give an accurate account to the chief priests, who seem to believe the account as well. Then they assembled the elders, who believe it as well. It’s important to understand that each of these groups believe that Jesus died and rose from the dead.

But the consequence of this truth was too much to take – so they sought to cover it up.

Earlier in Matthew, Jesus and Pharisees were arguing over following the law regarding the Sabbath. A man had a deformed arm was suffering, so Matthew 12:13 “Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And the man stretched it out, and it was restored, healthy like the other. 14 But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him.” The Pharisees knew Jesus performed miracles, and now they know He rose from the dead – but what is the consequence to them? What do you do with Jesus?

C. S. Lewis once said, “I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him [that is, Christ]: ‘I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.’ That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic–on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg–or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse…. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come up with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”[11]

The soldiers were given an assignment to guard the tomb. “According to Roman discipline, they were liable to very severe punishment for losing what they guarded.” (v. 14) “And if this comes to the governor’s ears” – So they say, “spread this false rumor, take this money, and we will make sure that no harm comes to you.”

The soldier’s account fails on two points, 1) if they were asleep, how do they know it was the disciples that stole the body? Sleeping people don’t make very good eyewitnesses. Also, if one of them awoke, why was not an alarm sounded and the disciples arrested?[12] 2) Why would a Roman soldier go around admitting to doing a bad job?

The soldiers were persuaded to spread a lie they knew not to be true, and to pretend that Jesus did not rise from the dead for money. Money kept them from repenting and giving their lives to what they knew to be true.

How much evidence is enough? If your heart is set against the things of God, and the Holy Spirit is not drawing a person, there is no amount of evidence that will change a person’s heart. They will even believe a lie that is harder to believe than the truth itself.

 The Disciples (vv. 16-20)

16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

(v. 16) “Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee” – Why were there only 11? Judas had betrayed Jesus and had hung himself. The disciples had time to replace him with another to complete the 12 – why had they not replaced Judas? Because there was no point, the Jesus movement was dead.

The church father Jerome said, “Their doubting increases our faith.” Some found it hard to believe that the person a far off (it was in a group of 500) before them was the resurrected Christ. “And Jesus came (near) . . .” When Jesus is close we begin to understand the power and truth of the resurrection. When you draw near to Jesus, He will make things clear. He has no desire to be the far-off God, he wants to be the close-up God of your life. In the Garden of Eden in Genesis God would come close to Adam and Eve, “in the cool of the day,” but sin caused that relationship between mankind and God to be distanced. Christ’s death and resurrection brings us back close to God.

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” – Satan and all his dominion poured out all the hate, the vile, and blasphemy he could aim at Jesus the Son. Then all of the Father’s wrath was poured upon Jesus on the Roman cross for the salvation of the world. He was scourged and beaten beyond recognition. He was raised on the cross, pierced for our iniquities.

He was laid in the tomb, dead – and now upon the resurrection ,the crown of thorns is removed, the rod used to beat him and then placed in his hand as a scepter is gone, and the mocking robe laid over him by the Roman soldiers is removed – Jesus the Son, now sits victorious at the right hand of the Father, having “All authority” – there is nothing that exists that is not under his reign.

Jesus then gives the disciples what is known as the Great Commission. (v. 19) “Go therefore” – Don’t miss the therefore; We are to make disciples of this resurrected Jesus. We who are Jesus’ disciples know that our Jesus sits with authority over all of creation as King, Supreme Ruler, all bow before Him. There is no one who will not have to give an account to Him.

We go under His authority, to speak and act as His representatives, his ambassadors, his children – but He is the resurrected Lord, therefore, He alone is worthy to be praised, worshipped, honored. Therefore, we tell the world about Him. Therefore, we share His gospel.

This is “the most sublime enterprise that ever human beings have been called upon to accomplish.”[13] Every nation should be discipled to be under His lordship, to keep His commandments.

“baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” – baptism, as a disciple, follows one’s salvation because it “symbolizes burial and resurrection, the actual burial and resurrection of Christ, and the spiritual death and resurrection of the believer in union with Christ (Rom. 6:3).”[14]

“teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” – While baptism is an act of obedience, done one time – observing Christ’s commands is an ongoing act, that we seek to follow Christ’s teachings every day. As a disciple maker learning Christ’s commands is not enough – a disciple maker must teach the disciple how to follow that teachings as a well. “to observe all . . .” There are no sections of Jesus’ teachings that have become antiquated, irrelevant, or untrue.

“And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” – The word “behold” is used in many places throughout the Bible to signal to the reader something spectacular. Jesus promises to be with us, always. How spectacular is that – this resurrected God, who died for the sins of the world, who has ultimate authority or all of space and time is with us – enabling us to carry out this “Great Commission.”

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[1] https://ministry127.com/resources/illustration/he-is-risen

[2] Seismo egeneto megas, Robertson, 240.

[3] Matthew 27:55-56 “There were also many women there [at Jesus’ death on the cross], looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him, 56 among whom were Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.”

[4] John A Broadus, Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew (Valley Forge, Pennsylvania; Judson Press, 1950) 584.

[5] Archibald Thomas Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament (Nashville, Tennessee; Broadman Press, 1930) 242.

[6] Douglas Sean O’Donnell, Matthew All Authority in Heaven and on Earth (Wheaton, Illinois; Crossway Publsihing, 2013) 901.

[7] Broadus, 586.

[8] Robertson, 242.

[9] Broadus, 586.

[10] “The absurd and blasphemous medieval Jewish legend called “Toldoth Jeshu” expands this allegation.” Broadus, 588.

[11] C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

[12] Frank E. Gabaelein, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 8 (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Zondervan Publishing, 1984) 591.

[13] Broadus, 592.

[14] Ibid, 596.

2 Thessalonians Sermon Series: Return of the King “Hold What Ya Got” 2 Thessalonians 2:13-17

2 Thessalonians Sermon Series:

Return of the King

“Hold What Ya Got”

2 Thessalonians 2:13-17

Introduction

Growing up in the church can be wonderful but it can also be very difficult. On one hand you have the blessings that come from a Christian family (provision, love, order, godly instruction, an extended church family), but the draw-back is that you are not allowed and certainly not encouraged to question the doctrines and traditions that you have grown up under.

So, predictably, when a young person, who has grown up in the Christian home begins to question and ask, “How do we know this to be true?” the church squirms and looks down and believes that all is lost. This generation is lost to the world because they don’t want to do things the same way we did things – but all they want is an answer to a very reasonable question.

The danger of passing the baton from one generation to the next is that man made tradition (the method) is held on the same level as God’s Word (the message).  So, when the younger ask the older, “why do we do it this way?” and “Can we do it another way?” there erupts arguments. Today Paul is telling a young church to hold to the traditions they have received – but it’s not the traditions that you may be thinking of.

Prayer

It is Going to Be Ok (vv. 13-14)

13 But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. 14 To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

This new church had endured horrible persecution. Many in the church services would have been nursing the wounds of that persecution. Then, they had received the false teaching that Christ had arrived, and they had the emotional relief that all their suffering was over, they would be with Christ in moments.

Then Paul writes them back, saying no, Christ will return, but there are things that have to happen first. So back down the emotional roller coaster they go again – figuring out how do they stay faithful under the weight of persecution and hardship.[1] It is not enough just to correct people’s doctrine – Paul also understands that he needs to address their spirit, they need to be encouraged.

Timothy Dwight once said, “The Bible is a window in this prison-world, through which we may look into eternity.” Paul is wanting the church to look through the window of his words to remind them of the eternal glory of being with Christ.

So Paul goes back in eternity, and will end in the future kingdom. “God had planned their place, and their final glory is Jesus Christ.”[2] Firstfruits is an agricultural term of where a crop will come in, and there will be several more yields in the season. Paul is thankful for the believers at Thessalonica because they are “firstfruits” of many more that are to come.

When discussing the salvation of those at Thessalonica, he points back to them being chosen way before the establishment of the church, and then to their being able to experience the glory of the Lord in eternity. His view of salvation is an eternal, high-level perspective. It is much bigger than the difficulties and hardships that they are currently enduring. Their lives and the work they are to be doing has been established “before the foundation of the world” (Eph. 1:4).

Paul says, “God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. . . he called you through our gospel” – The process of salvation seems to follow this order; God chooses a person in eternity past to be saved[3], they are called through the sharing of the gospel, the Holy Spirit sanctifies them, and they then believe the truth.

God chooses you, then through “sanctification by the Spirit,” – sanctification is act of making something or someone clean or holy.[4] We see a picture of this when Moses encounters the Spirit of God in the burning bush. Exodus 3:5 “Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”

God wants Moses to come into His presence “For God so loved the world”, so he takes the first step (the burning bush). Moses chooses to investigate “this strange sight” then God tells him how to be clean in his presence (take off your shoes). Moses then removes his shoes – there is a relationship where man enters into the presence of God – God draws and man follows the direction.

Sanctification occurs in the beginning of salvation, where the blindness of sin is removed enough so that a person may respond to the gospel – but it is also a life-long process of removing sin and becoming like Christ in holiness. But this same process of man cooperating with the Spirit in dealing with sin – it remains a choice their entire lives.

There are two sides in the matter of salvation. The initiative and the power are God’s; the necessary response is man’s. In these verses there is a movement of God first, then we respond to that calling and the movement of the Holy Spirit. And, as first-fruits, there is more to come. Their work in the church will lead to others coming to saving faith.

Also, before we move on from these verses, we do see that all three of the Trinity are involved in the salvation of people. All three are involved in the work of salvation.[5] Gould says, “It is clear that our salvation is rooted in love, planned in eternity, initiated in time, and consummated in glory. Essentially, salvation is all of grace since it is originated in God’s loving choice, wrought through the power of God’s Spirit, bestowed by answering God’s call, and perfected in the glory of God’s Son.”[6]

All that is needed for salvation, God has provided (with all that he is).

 Hold What You Got (v. 15)

15 So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter.

When I was a kid I would go and help my grandfather, who learned to be a carpenter after he retired. He would hold one end of the board, and I would hold the other and place it on the desired mark. He would check it for level, and they he would always say, “hold what you got” – in other word this is exactly where I want the board to be, just hold it still.

(v. 15) Paul says, “stand firm and hold to” – “to have a masterful grip on a thing” the same word for take hold is used in Mark 1:31[7] where Jesus heals Simon’s mother-in-law, “And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her, and she began to serve them.” We are to hold on masterfully to the traditions.

2 Timothy 2:15 “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.” You take God’s word and hold it up where it needs to be – “hold what you got.”

The word for traditions (meaning to pass on something from one person to another) can be used in a bad sense such as Col. 2:8 “See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.”

And the word tradition can be used in a good sense such as, 1 Cor. 11:23 referencing the Lord’s Supper “For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread,” and here in our passage today.

When we say tradition, it is not a reference to a way of doing things (like contemporary or traditional music, or order of worship). This is not what is being passed along. Paul is referring to his, Silas and Timothy’s teachings they have received while they were there.

So there are things that tend to get passed on from one group to another group, one generation to the next generation, and we must discern if it is empty human tradition, or the teachings of Scripture. “Sound doctrine is vital. The Thessalonians are to disregard the voices of theorist and fanatics, and keep “the word.’”[8]

For them, they had Paul’s spoken word as he stayed with them, and then later wrote them with letters. Robertson says, “The worth of the tradition lies not in the form but in the source and the quality of the content.” Consider the source, where is this tradition (body of teaching) coming from?

Jesus even said several times, “You have heard it said (meaning other teachers), but I say to you. (Matthew 5-7).” Many of the religious teachers in Jesus’ day had not interpreted the Scriptures correctly.

He criticized the Pharisees for slavishly following their traditions (their interpretations and additions) and making them more authoritative than the Scripture (Matt. 15:2; Mark 7:3).[9] Our ultimate source of tradition is the Bible, it is our ultimate source of authority.manuscripts,

How do we know that what has been passed on to us today, has not been corrupted with time? Like the children’s game of telephone.

There are several ways to establish the reliability of the Bible. The first is manuscript evidence.[10] So a manuscript is a copy of a section of the Bible. “There are now more than 5,300 known Greek manuscripts of the New Testament. Add over 10,000 Latin Vulgate and at least 9,300 other early versions and we have more than 24,000 manuscript copies of portions of the New Testament in existence.”[11] These manuscripts stretch out over many years and yet remain incredibly the same.

The differences that are found among these thousands of manuscripts are changes to the spelling of words (which would count as a variant), and repeats of words as they were being copied (and and, the the), and there are no variances that would change any doctrinal concepts. Today you can go to the British Museum and see the Codex Alexandrinus that was written in AD 400, and it contains almost the entire Bible.

There is also many archeological examples of cities or personalities mentioned in the biblical text, and then those cities being discovered, or the names of the person being mentioned in texts found on the site of the archeological discovery. In other words we see again and again this field of study proving the Bible to be accurate. Archaeologist Nelson Glueck asserts, “It may be stated categorically that no archaeological discovery has ever controverted a biblical reference.”[12]

Also, in 1947 a Bedouin shepherd boy was out looking for a lost goat, threw a rock into a cave on the west side of the Dead Sea. He heard the sound of shattered pottery and went in to investigate, where he discovered ancient copies of various books. They were leather scrolls, rolled up, placed in linen coverings, and sealed in clay pots where they had sat for 1,900 years (AD 68).

There were several other caves discovered and many other copies of Old Testament books – one example is that it placed a manuscript of Isaiah 1,000 years earlier than before; and it was incredibly accurate to the earlier version. These Dead Sea Scrolls push the time line of the dates of manuscripts even earlier than before.

We Have a Job to Do (v. 16)

16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, 17 comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.

Paul closes this section with a prayer. Everything relating to salvation and the church ultimately comes down to God’s power working within it. Through God’s grace we know that we have an eternal home, and in that have a “good hope.” But we are still here in this world, having to face the reality of a sinful fallen world – and in that we have a work to do, a word to share.

Paul is praying that God will comfort the church and to settle them down to focus on the important work they are to be doing – sharing the gospel.

Esther 4 “All the king’s servants and the people of the king’s provinces know that if any man or woman goes to the king inside the inner court without being called, there is but one law—to be put to death, except the one to whom the king holds out the golden scepter so that he may live. But as for me, I have not been called to come in to the king these thirty days.” 12 And they told Mordecai what Esther had said. 13 Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, “Do not think to yourself that in the king’s palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. 14 For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”

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[1] “The artificial and strenuous excitement of the hope of Christ’s immediate return, and their disappointment at his delay, had left their minds fatigued. The irritation in their midst caused by a few incorrigible busybodies and confirmed loafers had left their nerves frayed. They needed uplift, so Paul takes them up to a high place where they can have a conspectus of their own state, the religion in which they believe, and God’s purpose for them in the present and in the future.” George Arthur Buttrick, The Interpreter’s Bible, Volume 11 (Nashville, Tennessee; Abingdon Press, 1955) 331.

[2] Buttrick, 331.

[3] See also 1 Thessalonians 1:4 – Chosen by God.

[4] David Noel Freedman, Editor-in-Chief, Eerdman’s Dictionary of the Bible (Grand Rapids, Michigan; William B. Eerdman Publishing Company, 2000) 1166.

[5] J. Glenn Gould, Beacon Bible Commentary, Volume 9 (Kansas City, Missouri; Beacon Hill Press, 1965) 524.

[6] Gould, 524.

[7] Archibald Thomas Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament, Volume 4 (Nashville, Tennessee; Broadman Press, 1931) 54.

[8] Gould, 525.

[9] Ronald F. Youngblood, General Editor, Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Dictionary (Nashville, Tennessee; Nelson Publishing, 1995) 1272.

[10] Suggested reading on this topic: Norman L. Geiser and William E. Nix, From God to us, How We Got Our Bible (Chicago, Illinois; Moody Press, 1974)139 ff.

[11] Josh McDowell, Compiled by Bill Wilson, The Best of Josh McDowell, A Ready Defense (San Bernardino, California; Here’s Life Publishers, 1993) 43.

[12] Josh McDowell, Evidence that Demands a Verdict (Nashville, Tennessee; Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1999) 89.

2 Thessalonians Sermon Series: Return of the King “Don’t Be Deceived” 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12

2 Thessalonians Sermon Series:

Return of the King

“Don’t Be Deceived”

2 Thessalonians 2:1-12

Introduction

Isaiah 55:10-13 “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, 11 so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

 12 “For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. 13 Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress; instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle; and it shall make a name for the LORD, an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”

What are we to make of a thorn becoming a cypress, and a brier becoming a myrtle? If I go out in my backyard and water the thorns, I get bigger thorns, but not God’s Word. The purpose of God’s Word is that it is transformational – it turns thorns into cypresses, turning a sinner to a saint. It is God’s Word that we base our lives upon, but what if we get it wrong? What if our understanding is skewed? How does that affect our lives? What if our doctrine is untrue?

 Prayer

 The Doctrine You Hold (vv. 1-3a)

Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, 2 not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. 3 Let no one deceive you in any way.

In the ESV is says, “we ask you” and is later in the verse, but in the Greek it says more empathetically, “we beg you” and it is first thing in the sentence. This is a vital matter, it is vitally important that they not be shaken or alarmed.[1]

The new church had been taught falsely that “the day of the Lord has come” or is present. The Day of the Lord is a “fearful period of divine judgment”[2] described at the end of 1 Thessalonians. It is the period of time predicted in the Scripture when God will deal directly with human sin, and “it includes the tribulation time preceding the second advent of Christ as well as the whole millennial reign of Christ. It will culminate in the judgment of the great white throne. The Day of the Lord is therefore an extended period of time lasting over one thousand years.”[3]

They were confusing the difficulty they were experiencing with what was supposed to happen after Christ’s return and rapture of the church.

Why is it such a big deal if they believe this?[4] What is the danger of them believing this false belief? To begin with, some within the church believed that they had missed Jesus’ return. Paul was clear in his first letter to the church would meet Christ in the air, and that the dead in Christ would be raised first. Paul was addressing their concerns about their loved ones and what happens to them, this false belief causes that fear to return.

Jesus evens deals with false teachings in Matthew 24:4-8 “And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. 5 For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. 6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.” In this chapter Jesus goes on to outline what will happen at the end of time.

Another danger of false teachings is that they lead us to have fears and concerns that are not real. No one wants to be left behind.

Paul says, if you are claiming that God has revealed this to you, someone claiming a new revelation, then you are wrong “by a spirit,” or someone else has told this to you, then you are wrong, “or a spoken word,” and Paul flatly denies that he had written them a letter teaching this, “a letter seeming to be from us” or a forgery.

“Let no one deceive you in any way.” – the word for deceive here means an intentional purposeful deceit.[5] Why is doctrine important?

Correct doctrine is important because it addresses the difficulties in our lives with truth. Having false answers to life’s hard questions is of no value, it doesn’t help you. A life based on a lie is foolishness. Paul even said, “If in Christ we have hope in this life only (if Jesus were not raised), we are of all people most to be pitied. (1 Corinthians 15:10). Holding to the truth anchors us in the storms of life.

First Things First (vv. 3b-5)

For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 4 who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. 5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things?

The church could not be experiencing “the Day of the Lord” because certain things have to happen first, Paul says, “For that day will not come, unless . . .”

There will be what Paul calls “the rebellion” – this is a worldwide “anti-God” movement. “This Greek word apostasia is transliterated into English as “apostasy.” It is also called “falling away.” It is used in classical Greek for revolt or rebellion. It seems to refer to a growing rebellion against God by unsaved men. It is as though Satan will push all his forces into one last despairing effort.[6]

During this time a figure “the man of lawlessness” will emerge embodying everything opposed to God, and he will proclaim “himself to be God.”

“This individual “opposes and exalts himself over everything that is called God or is worshipped.” His direct and determined opposition to the true God will be a leading feature on the continuing “rebellion.” It will be especially marked by the removal of the symbolic articles from the Jerusalem temple. The man of lawlessness will occupy the holy precincts in order to accept and even demand worship that is due God alone. This evidently is a Jewish temple to be rebuilt in Jerusalem in the future.”[7]

“The man of lawlessness” designates a false prophet, probably to be identified with the second beast of Revelation 13.[8] His primary function will be to preside over the religious apostasy in cooperation with the beast of the sea (Rev. 13:1 ff.) who leads political opposition to God. Paul wrote these things as if they were going to happen in the future, so the Day of the Lord had not arrived while he was writing the church. [9]

“It is important to note, in this connection, that just like the apostasy will not be merely passive but active (not merely falling away from but also a rebellion against God and His Christ), so also the man of lawlessness will be an active and aggressive transgressor. He is not called “lawless” because he never heard God’s law, but because he openly defies it!”[10]

Then Paul says, “Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things?” (like in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17) Paul had been with them for about three weeks before he had to leave them. In that time he worked, probably making tents or the fabric tents were made of, and the church people had to work.

So in the late afternoons and evening Paul, Silas, and Timothy would gather the church together and teach them. One of their core teachings was the end times (eschatology). He also expects them to remember his teachings on these topics because later he doesn’t go back over the material for later readers (v. 6)

Studying doctrine is important because we don’t always get it the first go around.

 What You Love Determines Your Destiny (vv. 6-12)

6 And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, 10 and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11 Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, 12 in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

When Paul says, “And you know what is restraining him now,” he is referring to a previous time when he taught the church on this topic, but since we were not present for that lesson, we don’t know what he is talking about. There is someone “restraining him [the lawless one] now so that he may be revealed in his time”

There are different ways to interpret this passage; 1) This is the work of the Holy Spirit. At Pentecost (Acts 2) the Holy Spirit entered into the church and empowered them to do the work of the church, and continues to empower and guide the church in its’ work. But at this point in history, the Holy Spirit is still working.

2) It may be a change in government. Now, government restrains and tempers individuals from seizing worldwide power. Something will happen that will remove this restraint and they are then able to seize control of the entire world, and the government established will be powerless to stop him.

With regard to these verses, Augustine says, “[Paul] was unwilling to make an explicit statement, because he said that they [the Thessalonians] knew [what he was referring to]. And thus we, who don’t know what they knew, desire to understand what the apostle referred to, but even with hard work are not able, especially as his meaning is made still more obscure by what he adds [i.e., vv. 7-8a]. Augustine is basically saying, I don’t know what he is talking about.”[11]

Those that have “fallen away” during this time are given a strong delusion from God so that they keep on believing the lies. God hardens their hearts. “When Pharaoh hardens Pharaoh’s heart (Ex. 7:14; 8:15, 32; 9:7), God hardens Pharaoh’s heart (Ex. 9:12).[12]

In Exodus 8:15 God sent the plague of the frogs, “But when Pharaoh saw that there was a respite, he hardened his heart and would not listen to them, as the LORD had said.” Pharaoh hardened his own heart. Exodus 14:8 “And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the people of Israel while the people of Israel were going out defiantly.”

There is a season when you have a choice to harden your heart toward the things of God, but there will be a day (and it is up the Lord when that is) when God will remove that option – he will permanently harden the direction you have chosen.

“because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.” Who believes a lie they know to be false? Those that “had pleasure in unrighteousness.” “The love of the truth or the gospel is in contrast to the lying and deceit of Christ’s enemies. They believed them rather than Christ (John 8:44-47).” You can only be saved by committing yourself to him who is truth. Truth brought salvation; falsehood, lies, and deception resulted in eternal separation from God.

Then, God will give them over to their own deliberate choice to reject the truth of the gospel and their love of unrighteousness. “God’s actions are a response to, not the cause of, their actions.”[13]

Romans 1:24-25 says, “Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator.” God is giving them up to their ultimate choice. “The beginning of sin is to forsake God; the end of sin is to be God forsaken.”[14]

The sad part of this teaching from Paul is that the great “rebellion” will be from the churches. There will be people who claim to be Christians, go to church, go through the motions, but when times get difficult, and there is an option to turn from Christ to the Anti-Christ they will leave in huge numbers – only a small remnant will remain.

Why is doctrine important? It guides us to the truth which ends in eternal life, and keeps us from lies which leads to eternal separation. True doctrine is the engineer sitting in the Engine of the train that pulls us to our ultimate destination. What you believe is incredibly important; it is worth the time to sit down and figure out what you believe – because your doctrine directs your actions. Your decisions determine your destiny.

Satan will use the same lie at the end of time that he used at the beginning of time, Genesis 3:5 “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” You determine what is good and what is evil, you determine what is true and what is a lie – not the Creator, not God. If someone follows this lie, and loves sin more than the gospel then Paul says, “in order that all may be condemned.” In the Garden of Eden Adam and Eve had the freedom and nobility of choice – we choose to follow God in truth, or follow Satan and his lies. And for a season here on earth we have a chance to follow Christ, accept His gospel, and live for God. Do you know Him? It’s still your choice.

______________________

[1] Clifton J. Allen, The Broadman Bible Commentary, Volume 11 (Nashville, Tennessee; Broadman Publishing, 1971) 290.

[2] John F. Walvood, The Thessalonian Epistles (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Dunham Publication, 1968) 116.

[3] Walvood, 117.

[4] Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that Christ’s coming occurred on October 1, 1914, but was invisible rather than public and involved a change of location in heaven (Holmes, 237).

[5] The Expositor’s Bible, Volume 11 (Nashville, Tennessee; Abingdon Press, 1955)326.

[6] Allen, 291.

[7] Frank E. Gaebelein, General Editor, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 11 (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Zondervan Publishing, 1978) 322. See also, Daniel 9:26, 27; 11:31 (cf. Matt. 24:15; Mark 13:14).

[8] Rev. 13:11 ff; 16;13; 19:20; 20:10.

[9] Gaebelein, 323.

[10] William Hendriksen, New Testament Commentary, Exposition of 1 &2 Thessalonians (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Baker Book House, 1987) 170.

[11] Michael Holmes, The NIV Application Commentary, 1 & @ Thessalonians (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Zondervan Publishing, 1998) 234.

[12] Hendriksen, 186

[13] Holmes, 236.

[14] Allen, 294.

2 Thessalonians Sermon Series: Return of the King “Glorifying God in Tribulation” 2 Thessalonians 1:1-12

2 Thessalonians Sermon Series:

Return of the King

“Glorifying God in Tribulation”

2 Thessalonians 1:1-12

Introduction

Robert Frost, “The Road Not Taken”

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

“The Road Not Taken” has confused audiences literally from the beginning. In the spring of 1915, Frost sent an envelope to Edward Thomas that contained only one item: a draft of “The Road Not Taken,” under the title “Two Roads.” According to Lawrance Thompson, Frost had been inspired to write the poem by Thomas’s habit of regretting whatever path the pair took during their long walks in the countryside—an impulse that Frost equated with the romantic predisposi­tion for “crying over what might have been.” Frost, Thompson writes, believed that his friend “would take the poem as a gentle joke and would protest, ‘Stop teasing me.’”[1]

In today’s passage the church in Thessalonica have to make a choice, continue on the Christian faith despite hardship and persecution – are they going to regret making this choice to follow Christ, perhaps they are struggling with why God is allowing them to go through this.

Biblical scholars believe that the person who delivered 1 Thessalonians stayed long enough to see the effect the letter from Paul had upon the early church. Then this person returned back to Paul and gave a report. Paul then penned the second letter to the Thessalonians.[2] It is also believed that the new church received an intentional forgery indicating that “the Day of the Lord” and its judgements was already occurring.[3] This went against what Paul taught them in the first letter to the Thessalonians.

The report that Paul received told him that they church had “made progress in their faith and love (1:3). They had remained firm under repeated outbreaks of persecution (1:4). Also, their distress about the death of their loved ones had been relieved by the teachings of the First Epistle. But their excitement relative to the second coming had been intensified. They were agitated by the view “that the day of the Lord is already here (2 Thess. 2:2).”[4] Some quit working, some become busy bodies, meddling in others business, so Paul responds to these conditions.

Prayer

The Growing Church is Encouraged (vv. 1-4).

Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: 2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

3 We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing. 4 Therefore we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions that you are enduring.

Paul is writing the church to address specific issues (not working, wrong ideas about the return of Christ), but he first recognizes that for the most part, there are a majority of people who are “growing abundantly.” And while that small minority might be causing enough of an issue that it requires a letter to be written, he focuses first on those whose “love of every one of you for one another is increasing.”

In life it is sometimes so easy to focus on the one or two things that are wrong, and lose sight that there is a vast number of things that are right. The church is being persecuted, but they are being steadfast in their faith, they are enduring great afflictions, and yet Paul says, “your faith is growing abundantly.”

When a person puts their faith in Jesus, they believe in Christ’s deity, that He is capable of saving them from their sin, but it is also possible to learn by experience to trust the Lord in all things – this is a process that we grow in. As Christians go through life, they learn to trust God in different ways. Some even trust God for the eternal, but not the problem right in front of them.[5]

Paul doesn’t start with the problems and what is wrong, he starts with what is right. He even says, “We ought always to give thanks to God for you” We ought to begin with thanksgiving for what God is doing. There will always be issues that the church must work through, we are people after all, but the things we tend to focus on, what holds a majority of our attention, determines our overall view of the situation.

Paul is taking a moment to celebrate what God is doing in this church in spite of all the difficulty that surrounded it. We also, before we focus on the negative, ought to take time to thank God for what He is doing, and all the positive things we see Him doing in others around us. Otherwise, you just focus on the negative all the time. It’s always easier to see the bad, it takes extra effort to see the good.

If Paul had started with the few trouble makers, then it would have been like pouring cold water all over the many who that were growing in their faith, being an example to surrounding cities, and were excited themselves about what God was doing.

Also, Paul is acknowledging that they were growing, “In 1 Thessalonians Paul prayed for growth in faith, love, and hope (1:3). Now he thanked God that the Thessalonians had achieved this.”[6]

(v. 4) Paul praises them by saying, “your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions that you are enduring.” He is boasting to other churches about how they were remaining steadfast, “As they kept on growing in faith and bearing abundant fruit in love, Paul kept on boasting about them in other churches of God.”[7]

The word used for steadfastness means patience, or “remaining under.”[8] Christians have burdens and cares they are under, or are carrying and want to get rid of them, yet remain under them. The steadfast person remains under the stress and burden and adjusts himself to the circumstances that he is called to live.

This church is being persecuted because of their work for the Lord, and they are growing in their ability stand up under this weight. Their situation was the same as when Paul left, but the church, the members were not the same – they were growing in their faith.

“persecutions and in the afflictions that you are enduring” – the way Paul used the word enduring means that it is relentless, constant, there is no letting up. So in these opening verses Paul is commending them on their growth in love and faith. They are growing in how they are loving God, and how they are loving others, in spite of the circumstances around them. Whatever is going on in your life, there is no excuse for not growing in your relationship with the Lord.

 God’s Promise to The Faithful (vv. 5-8a)

5 This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering— 6 since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, 7 and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels 8 in flaming fire, . . . 

 (v. 5) “This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God” – Now, Paul jumps from the present when they are suffering, to the future when those who persecute and cause them harm will suffer. The word for evidence is used only here in the New Testament and it means “proof.”

God’s judgement is given in the context of history. That judgment of God “will be in keeping with the evidence (proof) as found in the individual’s life on earth and the subsequent results of that life in the lives of others.”[9]

God’s people may be in affliction now, but at the final judgement the ones afflicting them on earth will be in affliction.[10]

(v. 7) “and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels” – Paul is also saying that this will not last forever. When Christ returns, all of His followers will be granted relief, rest. All the pain, suffering, persecution, hatred, . . . all of it will end.

In their suffering and pain, God has not left them to figure it out. Followers of God will experience God as his helper, and it has been this way since the beginning. “The patriarchs declared it, the prophets experienced it, the psalmists sang it, the disciples rejoiced in it, the martyrs evidenced it, and in the succeeding days men and women of every kindred and people and tongue have cried with those who have marched the rugged way before them: “‘God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear (Psalm 46:1-2).’”[11]

Paul is saying that the fact that they have been able to stand up under the weight of persecution, and absorb this punishment with patience is evidence of God’s power working in their lives. Also, God is working in their lives “making them worthy of the kingdom of God,” And there is a coming judgement.

 God’s Promise to the Faithless (vv. 8b-10)

. . . inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, 10 when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed.

I don’t think the intention of Paul is to say, “those who hurt you, will be hurt.” Instead it is a reminder that you once were one of those who hurt people, but now you are not destined toward that future, you are now going in a different direction – because of your belief in the gospel.

The difference between the two groups of people is those that know God, and those that do not know God (not the good and the bad). Romans 3:23 says, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

How then does one come to know God? You know God and are known by God by “obeying the gospel of our Lord Jesus.” What then is the gospel?

So why would God punish someone who does not receive the gospel? Because like the persecutors of the church they have caused harm to themselves and others. (see the Ten Commandments).

(v. 9) There is are two time-limits that a person has to respond to the invitation of the gospel, their own death and Christ’s return (if they are still alive). There is also a time restriction to the state of those that know him and those that do not know him. Those that do not know Him, “will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might.”

The second part of the sentence explains the first[12]: What Paul means by “Eternal destruction” is being “Away from the presence of the Lord and “Away from the glory of his might.”[13] Eternal Life and Eternal Destruction are exact opposites. Eternal life is to be in the presence of the Lord and to experience His majesty, Eternal Destruction is to be away from the presence of the Lord and His majesty. [14]

Glorifying God With Our Lives (vv. 11-12)

11 To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, 12 so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul is telling the church about the future, not to satisfy their curiosity, but for them (and us) to take action based on that information. “This is the point Paul makes here. He has reviewed their sufferings, and how God is able to take care of them. He has discussed how the wicked will be punished in due time. Then he makes a practical application. If this is our destiny, if there is glory ahead, if we are to be in the very presence of our glorious Savior, what an exhortation it constitutes to live for Christ right now.”[15]

Our lives are to be lived in such a way as to bring glory to God. Paul says, “so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you” – this is his prayer for the church, that God has given us so much, that we must grow in our walk with the Lord, and live in such a way as to “make you worthy of his calling.”

Psalm 19:1-2 says, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. 2 Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.” Creation declares the glory of God in intelligent design.[16] The heavens show His wisdom, power, and purpose in designing all creation for an intelligent end. Nature reveals that God is and what He can do.

But they do not reveal the love of God, nor His righteousness. “That is where Christians come into the picture. We are designed to show “the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ (Eph. 2:7).”

If we are to share that message with the world, then we must submit to the gospel message, and be an example to others of what the power of God and his grace can do in a person.

“I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.”

Have you made the choice to follow Christ, to put your faith in Him? Do you know Him and His gospel?

__________________________

[1] https://lithub.com/youre-probably-misreading-robert-frosts-most-famous-poem/

[2] D. Edmond Hiebert, An Introduction to the Pauline Epistles (Chicago, Illinois; Moody Press, 1954) 60.

[3] John F. Walvoord, The Thessalonian Epistles (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Dunham Publication, 1968) 101.

[4] Hiebert, 60.

[5] Walvoord, 105.

[6] Clifton Allen, Broadman Bible Commentary, Volume 11 (Nashville, Tennessee; Broadman Publishing, 1971) 286.

[7] Allen, 286.

[8] Walvoord, 106.

[9] Allen, 287. See also Buttrick, 319. This is the only use of the word for proof , rare in classical Greek.

[10] lex talionis – the law of retaliation, “eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth.”

[11] George Arthur Buttrick, Commentary Editor, The Interpreter’s Bible, Volume 11 (Nashville, Tennessee; Abingdon Press, 1955) 320.

[12] Hendiadys

[13] Michael Holmes, The NIV Application Commentary, 1 & 2 Thessalonians (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Zondervan Publishing, 1998) 215.

[14] Nature fights on the side of the good (Rev 12). “Though the mills of God grind slowly, yet they grind exceedingly small.” Longfellow, “Poetic Aphorisms: Retribution.” Sinngedichte of Frederich von Logau Buttrick, 323).

[15] Walvood, 111.

[16] Ontological argument for the existence of God.

"For by grace you have been saved through faith." Ephesians 2:8

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