Sent...By His Authority (Week 3)

Scripture Reading: Ephesians 1:15-23 | Acts 1:1-11 | Matthew 28:18-20

What does the Ascension really mean? Did Jesus leave—or is something bigger happening? The Ascension is not about Jesus’ absence, but His reign. And that changes how we understand what it means to be sent. You are not sent on your own—you are sent under the authority of the risen and ascended Christ. This is Week 3 of “Sent.”

Transcript

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In Matthew 28, Jesus said, 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. To hear his word, to receive his promises, to repent, to believe. That Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. And that by believing you have life in his name. Now here are the good news of Jesus for you. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord, our Savior, our risen Lord and ascended Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. On Sundays, today is one of those days. We regularly confess and we say these words together. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father. We say those words so often, so often, we know them, we memorize them, we speak them almost automatically without really thinking about it. And so today I want us to slow down and really consider what it is when we mean when we say that he ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father. What does it actually mean? And what difference does it make for you tomorrow morning? To understand the moment that we have in our gospel reading, it helps to remember everything that happens leading up to it. Jesus rises from the dead on the third day. He appears to the disciples on the road to Emmaus and teaches them along the way. And then they, after hearing this and discovering that it is Jesus, they run back to Jerusalem, and Jesus appears to them in the upper room, and the upper room is locked, and he still appears to them, and he shows them his hands and his side, and he spends the next 40 days. He spends the next 40 days teaching these disciples, showing them all the things that they are to know. And all of these appearances, these resurrection appearances, matter because they show us something important that Jesus is alive. He's truly alive. He is physically present with these disciples for 40 days. And now, 40 days after his resurrection, Jesus gathers his disciples one more time and he gives them this mission, and then he leaves. And the disciples would have probably chosen for things to go a little different than this. Because wouldn't it be easier if Jesus would have just stayed? Wouldn't it be easier if Jesus would have stayed physically present with them? Wouldn't it be easier if as Jesus sends them out into the world, he was right next to them physically, wherever they went? That anytime they had a difficult question, that they need to have answer, they could just turn to Jesus and say, Jesus, I have this question. And he'd be able to give them an answer automatically. Or that if they had doubts about what they were doing or where they were going, they could just turn to Jesus and he'd be right next to them and they'd say, Ah, well, at least Jesus is going with me and I can see him. Wouldn't that have been easier? Wouldn't that have been more calming and more peaceful for them? And so you can almost imagine the disciples thinking that if you're going to send us into the world, Jesus, wouldn't you want to stay to be with us to help us? Again, they had just watched Jesus conquer death itself. That would be a pretty great companion to have by your side as you go out into the world, delivering this message to people. And now he's leaving. Like it's not supposed to be this way, it's supposed to go the other way. But it's intentional. Jesus here is not abandoning his church. This was God's plan. The ascension, at the ascension, Jesus is not withdrawing from his church and withdrawing from his authority, but he's exercising it. Jesus is exercising his authority. That's how the Great Commission starts here in Matthew 28, by the way. And everything in the Great Commission, everything that follows, hangs on those words. Jesus doesn't begin this Great Commission of sending, commissioning these disciples and sending them out. He doesn't begin with the qualifications. He doesn't say, you know what? You followed me for three years, you've learned, you've grown, you're ready. Now it's time to go. No, he starts from a position of authority, not their authority, though, his authority. He says, All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me. With that in mind, therefore, go. Because all authority has been given to me, go. I'm going to use this authority to send you. All authority in heaven and on earth. What do we mean by all authority? Well, all authority means authority over sin. Jesus proved that enough, didn't he? That he forgave people during his earthly ministry. All authority means authority over death. His resurrection proves that. That he has authority, yes, even over death. All authority over nations and rulers. Now that one's a little bit more difficult to see because wasn't it the nations and the rulers? Weren't they the ones that put Jesus to death? Except for, yeah, he still has authority over them too. All authority over all events in history. Now, this one you can really think about and realize that if Jesus has authority even over the most tragic event in the history of the world, which is the death of God's own beloved son, doesn't that mean he has authority over all events? Authority over the church? Authority over your future. Authority over everything. Paul writes this in Ephesians 1. He says, God raised him, referring to the Father. The Father raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places. It's far above, far above rule and authority and power and dominion. Above all rule, all authority, all power, all dominion. You see, kings and kingdoms, they they rise and they fall. And so do governments. Culture, it changes, it has a way of changing all the time. Economies, they go good and they go bad all the time. Nations, there's there's struggle against one another, internal struggle in nations. The world, this is certain, the world is in a constant, a constant state of instability and insecurity and uncertainty. But Christ is stable and he's secure, and he's reigning over all things. And he's reigning, and here's the key, at the right hand of the Father. Uh in Scripture, when it talks about the right hand, the right hand is meant to be the hand of power and authority. So it's not that Jesus and the Father, they're sitting next to each other on the throne, one's on the big throne, one's on the small throne, right next to them, and they're having conversations and they're playing a chess game or something. No, this is referring to the powerful, majestic hand of God. In Psalm 110 it says, Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool. Or in Exodus 15, after God redeems Israel out of slavery, says, Your right hand, O Lord, that powerful hand, your right hand, O Lord, is glorious in power. Psalm 118 says, the right hand of the Lord does valiantly. And so the right hand is the powerful, majestic hand of God. And so when we say that Jesus sits at the right hand, the powerful, majestic hand of God, we're not talking about a physical chair somewhere. We are saying that the crucified and risen Jesus now reigns with authority, powerful authority over everything. The one who wore a crown of thorns now wears the crown of heaven. The one that was condemned by earthly authorities now exercised power over all of them. The one who was mocked and ridiculed and scorned, he is the one that's reigning. And here's why this matters, because the church, the people, are sent not under their own authority, but under his authority. You are sent out into the world, not under your own authority, but under his authority. And that, the fact that you're sent out into the world under his authority, that is both a challenge and a blessing. It's a challenge because it means that as Christians, we don't get to invent. We don't get to invent our own message. We are sent into the world under his authority with his message, which means we're not able and we're not told to speak whatever we think or feel or believe is true about life and truth and morality and salvation and heaven and hell and men and women and marriages and sin and forgiveness or even Jesus Himself. We don't get to go out into the world and say whatever we feel like saying about any of those things. Because we're sent under his authority. Which means we don't get to reshape Christianity. We don't get to reshape it into our own personal opinions. Or we don't get to reshape it based on cultural pressure. And we don't get to soften it either. We don't get to soften the things that God has clearly spoken about just because they make people feel uncomfortable. And we don't get to add to his word either. We simply say what he says in his word. And that's difficult. And we know that's difficult. It's difficult because we live in a world that is constantly telling us that truth, truth should be something that's in here. Not something you can write on a piece of paper, especially not something that people wrote on a piece of paper 2,000 years ago. That can't be relevant today. That truth is something that's in here. And so the world says that. The world says, speak your truth. But Jesus says, as you go, teach them what I've commanded you. Don't teach them your truth. Teach them what I have commanded you to observe. And so that means that there's going to be moments where following Jesus is uncomfortable because it puts us at odds. It puts us at odds with the people and the world around us. Because there are things about life and death that the world rejects. And there are things about men and women and human sexuality and marriage that the world rejects. And there are things about forgiveness and sin and reconciliation that the world rejects. And there are things about salvation and the fact that salvation is found in no one else except for Jesus that the world rejects. And that's hard. And then there's the fact that sometimes God's word will speak truth, not out there, but in here. And we too have a desire to reject that as well, especially when it gets uncomfortable. Especially when it corrects me. And it tells me that I should be living different or talking different or treating people different than the way I treated them today or yesterday or the day before. That tomorrow I should be different. And we struggle with that. Because we want this beautiful word that is spoken about all the time. We want autonomy. We want this idea of self. That everything we do can be about ourselves. And so we can decide. We can decide what's right and wrong for ourselves. And so we want Jesus then to affirm that, to affirm our instincts and instead of challenging them. We want a Christianity that feels comfortable and manageable. And so being sent under Christ's authority means that we have to surrender. We have to surrender to his authority. We have to surrender to his word, even when it confronts us or humbles us or calls us to repent. It's a challenge. But it's also, it's also a blessing. Because if being sent, if that rested on our own authority or our own wisdom or our own opinions, then it would have a way of coming and going. It would be constantly shifting. Truth would be unstable, and hope would be uncertain, and salvation would depend on human ideas. But Christians aren't sent out into the world with a message that was invented by men. We are sent with the word of Christ Himself. And that means that when you speak his promises, you are saying something solid, something eternal, something trustworthy, something real. When you tell someone that their sins are forgiven in Christ, that's not your opinion. Because the cross declares that to be true. That's the truth. And when you speak about the hope of the resurrection, as you're dealing with loved ones that are going through tough times, or you're losing a loved one, or you've lost a loved one, when you speak about the hope of the resurrection in spite of that, in the face of that, you know that's true. Because Jesus appeared with his disciples for 40 days, hundreds of them. For 40 days. And he showed him his hands and his side. And he said, Believe. He really did rise from the dead. That's not just wishful thinking. And when you proclaim that Jesus died and rose for sinners, not for perfect people, but for sinners. That's not a human philosophy or a religious ideology. But that's the whole point of the Christian message. That Jesus died and rose for sinners. And when you do that, that is Jesus reigning. That's his power and dominion reigning at the right hand of the Father. And that means that the burden of this authority doesn't rest on you. Because you didn't invent it. And you don't save anyone. And you don't make Christianity more believable or more acceptable. You don't have to do any of that. You simply are called to faithfully speak what the King of Kings has told you to say. And by the way, when you go and you're sent and you speak these things, that doesn't mean that you have to speak with a kind of arrogance. Sometimes Christians confuse that. They confuse boldness with harshness. Or they confuse faithfulness with being combative. But they're not the same thing. Those are not the same thing. Because the world already has enough of those kinds of people. The world already has enough of arrogant people that are yelling opinions at each other. We have enough people that are speaking with cruelty and with self-righteousness and with a kind of pride. And so Christians are not sent out in the world to become arrogant fools who enjoy winning arguments and humiliating people for the sake of Jesus. Because remember, that's why you go. You don't go under your authority, you go under his, under Christ's authority. And that's humbling. Humility says that this is not a truth that I invented. This is not a message then that I can manipulate to my own liking. But I simply speak what Jesus wants me to say. And so that means you can go out with conviction. And as you go with conviction, you can also go with gentleness. And you can go out with clarity. You can be sure. But you can also go out with a kind of compassion for those who maybe don't understand it or doesn't make sense to them quite yet. And you can go out with boldness. And at the same time, you can be bold, you can also be humble. And that means you don't apologize. You don't apologize for what God has clearly spoke about. And you don't soften the truth because the world and culture dislikes it. And you don't pretend that, wow, well, we're not really certain that there's uncertainty going on here, but God's word has been very clear. No? When you do speak, you speak as though you are given this message from Christ. Here's how you speak. You speak as a sinner. You speak as a sinner that has been redeemed by God's grace. You speak as someone who needs forgiveness too. You speak as someone who still needs that mercy that you claim to love so much, that mercy that is new every morning for you. You speak as someone who's standing under the same word, and this is beautiful. You're standing under the same word of God that you are out there telling the world about. And that changes, that changes the tone, doesn't it? Because that means you're sent not into the world to win power struggles or arguments. You're sent to bear witness to Christ and to give a witness to this message, this good news. To give a witness to what you've seen and you've heard. And we do this in all in all kinds of places. A parent does this pretty regularly as they open up the word of God and they don't try and argue with them, but they just open up the word and they say, let's read stories about Jesus. Let's read stories about God at work. Or a teenager does this as they sit in a classroom with others who say, You can't possibly believe that stuff. And they say, not with arguments, they just say, I do. I believe it. I believe what God says about these things. Or you have a conversation with a friend who's having a difficult time in their marriage, and instead of just trying to affirm whatever they're going through or affirm whatever they want to do in that marriage, you give them real truth. You encourage them to forgive one another and reconcile with each other and seek repentance. You encourage them to be faithful to one another, even though that conversation might cause a strain between your relationship and it might be uncomfortable. This happens when someone asks you. They say, Why do you still believe in Jesus? And instead of pretending that you have every answer imaginable in the universe, you simply say, I believe because Jesus has forgiven me. I believe because Jesus rose from the dead. I believe because without him, I would have no hope to face tomorrow. That's why I believe. This happens when you speak about the things that break God's heart. You speak about the things that matter to him, you speak about the sanctity of life, or treating others with respect. Or you speak about how gossip is not a good thing, and you refuse to be part of that in the workplace. Or when you tell someone who's dealing with shame or addiction, and you don't say, you know, you better go fix yourself, and then you can come to church and you can get your life figured out. No, you say, come in, sit with Jesus. Here's the cool thing: Jesus sits and eats with sinners, and that's you, and that's good news. Christians, we speak as those who have been rescued. And people can tell the differences, by the way. Because the goal is not to sound impressive or to dominate conversations or to win an argument. The goal is to be faithful to Jesus, to simply speak. What he's told us to speak with courage and humility and love and care. And that kind of witness stands out more in our world today than it ever has because we're so lacking in that kind of a witness. That's what the disciples are doing. And that's what Jesus sends us out to do. It would be easier, wouldn't it? And we can acknowledge that it would be easier if Jesus were physically present with us right now, today. It would be easier if when we were sent out into the world to go tell our family and our friends and our neighbors and the people we work with and the people in the world, it'd be easier if Jesus is right there and we say, I'm not sure how to answer this question. Or I feel like I made a mistake. Jesus, can you help me correct this? And he's right there and he can give you that answer. It would be easier if as we go through doubts and as we deal with discouragement, if Jesus is physically right there. There's no doubt about that it would be easier. And it's something that the disciples too would have wanted. But that's not what God has in store. Jesus ascends, he leaves physically. He leaves the side of the disciples, and then he says he's going to send his Holy Spirit. But when he leaves and he says he's going to send the Holy Spirit, he doesn't abandon them. And he doesn't abandon you and me either. He's still present. We still talk about the ways that he's present. He's present in his word. Every time we open up his word, his word doesn't return empty, but it accomplishes the purposes that he sends it. He's present in baptism. When he comes and he claims us as his own. He's present in the Lord's Supper. When he promises to be with us in, with and under the bread and the wine to forgive us of our sins, he's present as we gather, wherever two or three are gathered, he's there. He doesn't abandon us. He doesn't abandon his church. He's with us. And that's how the Great Commission ends. He says, I'm not going to abandon you. He says, I'm with you always. When you struggle to find the right words to say, I'm with you always. When you're dealing with a challenge in life, I'm with you always. I'm with you always to the end of the age. And don't forget who's with you. The one who holds the scars from the cross is with you. And the one who is seated at the right hand of the Father is with you. The one who conquered sin and death is with you. And he reigns. He reigns over all things. Everything. Don't forget that. He reigns over everything. Everything that you go through or will go through. He is reigning and ruling. And he has authority. And so as you go, because we are sent, as you go, go with confidence and certainty and strength. But not in your own, in his. And in that good news, go. Because you're sent. In Jesus' name. Amen.