The ‘Great Commission’ passage at the end of Matthew’s
Gospel (28:16-20) provides us with a plan for moving forward, for living out
the Christian faith. But….
But, we often overlook something striking, surprising. Jesus
has lived his life on Earth. He has ministered, taught, healed, suffered, died,
and been resurrected. He is now ready to move this “kingdom of God” message from
the Judean/Galilean lands to the rest of the world. The Commission sends his
followers “into all the world.”
But, his followers. If we were going to start a world-wide
movement, if we were looking to teach and make disciples around the world, we
would want the best, the most passionate and devoted to the cause. Yet, who does
Jesus have? He has “eleven” disciples. Not ten; not twelve – eleven.
Eleven is an odd number—numerically and metaphorically. The
Bible reveals numbers that are special, important: three, five, twelve, forty.
Forty disciples would be so much better—more to go into the big wide world
awaiting them. Twelve would be the minimum, but with Judas gone, now Jesus has
only eleven. If they were to go out two-by-two as he had sent out disciples
before, there would be an odd man out. Ugh. Eleven…
And, not even all eleven are on board: “…some doubted.” What
did they doubt? Perhaps they doubted this was really Jesus. Maybe (probably!) something
seemed very different about him. Perhaps they doubted this mission to the world—doubted
if it would be embraced, doubted their own ability to do this. But, they doubted.
In short, Jesus has a less-than-ideal group to send out.
However, there is something about this group that does stand
out. There is something about this group that speaks to Jesus and speaks to us
today. In fact, we quickly realize that we are not too different from this
group. We are not a ‘perfect’ group of Jesus-followers ourselves. And, if we
are honest, we gather on Sunday with our own doubts: Is God going to work in my
life? Can God save my marriage? Will following Jesus actually change anything
in my life? We are not too different from those disciples. But, we, too, have
that something that stands out in Matthew 28.
What is that ‘something’? They show up. After all they’ve been through, they show up. Even though they get the message second hand to go to the mountain (the women tell them), they show up. Even though their worlds have been turned upside-down, they show up. And, that is what you and I do each week: we show up. More than anything Jesus asks us to simply show up. When we show up, Jesus can use us to build his kingdom. When we come to worship—even with our doubts, Jesus will use us, send us, entrust his sacred message to us.
This is good news for us! We do not have to be the best. We
do not have to be perfect. We do not have to have it all together in our minds.
We just need to show up…and Jesus will receive us.
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