Title Go to Galilee (Matthew 28:1-10)
Contents The ministry of Jesus' symbiosis began in Galilee. Galilee was the outskirts of Judea at that time. Most of them were poor and marginalized people. Nathanael (Bartholomew), a friend of Philip and later a disciple of Jesus, asked, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:46). However, Galilee, where the town of Nazareth was located, was the center of Jesus' ministry, and most of the disciples are from Galilee. Before the cross, Jesus told the disciples that he would go to Galilee before the disciples, announcing his death and resurrection. The disciples who did not acknowledge Jesus' death did not listen to the Lord's words to meet them in Galilee. They vehemently denied the Lord's death, and when the first disciple Peter said, "Even if I die with you, I will not deny you." The other disciples promised to do the same as Peter did.
However, the Lord was arrested that night by the soldiers sent by the high priest for betrayal of his disciple Judas Iscariot, and was taken away. The next day, he was crucified at Golgotha by rapid interrogation and trial. All the disciples who refused to leave the Lord ran away. Peter, who did not acknowledge the cross of the Lord, went to the place where the high priest was interrogated to see the results, but denied that he did not know the Lord three times. The disciples were perplexed before the sudden death of the Lord, and they all gathered together, but they were not free from fear.
One day after the Sabbath was passed, and it was the first day after the Sabbath. The women who had followed the Lord closely went to the tomb early in the morning to anoint the Lord's body with perfume. But somehow, the entrance to the stone tomb was wide open. When the women were astonished, they went into the tomb, where the body of the Lord was not found, but an angel in the form of lightning, clad in snow white, said, “Do not be afraid, I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he is not here. He has risen, just as you said.” And the angels said to the women, "Go quickly and say to his disciples, He has risen from the dead, and is going before you into Galilee, where you will see him."
At dawn on the first day after the Sabbath, the Lord broke the power of death and resurrected victoriously. Then he met the women and said to them, “Tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there you will see me.” Thinking about the meaning of the word that the Lord commanded the women to meet in Galilee on the morning of the resurrection, we want to hear the still small voice of God and receive grace together.
1. Galilee is the place to confirm the fact of the resurrection.
Pharisees and Sadducees, the representative sects of Judaism, believe in Jehovah God, but have extreme doctrines. A prime example of this is the Resurrection Faith. The Pharisees acknowledge the resurrection, but the Sadducees do not. Resurrection beliefs were at the heart of their doctrinal debate. A characteristic of the Sadducees, who did not believe in the resurrection, was their reality-centered faith. There was no solution to the problem after death. I thought death was the end of everything in life. This is what atheists think today. In fact, faith in the resurrection begins with the Old Testament. Abraham was going to offer his son Isaac as a burnt offering to God on Mount Moriah. The idea of sacrificing the only son of the promise, Isaac, as a burnt offering is beyond common sense. Perhaps even Abraham was skeptical at first. ‘This command may not be the voice of God,’ but he was convinced that that voice was the voice of God and that God’s promises were unchangingly fulfilled. In the end, Abraham obeyed God's command, but Isaac did not die. This is the faith of the resurrection.
Israel, who suffered as slaves in Egypt, was a dead people. Over time, Israel's seed will wither and disappear from Egypt because the births of males were prevented. However, God pressured Pharaoh of Egypt through Moses so that he could experience the power of resurrection called liberation. Israel is on the brink of annihilation by the Egyptian army chasing after the Red Sea. The only option left is to be drowned in the Red Sea or annihilated by the sword of the Egyptian army. However, God cut the Red Sea in a supernatural way and dramatically saved Israel by that way. This is the faith of the resurrection.
The Lord foretold His death and resurrection to His disciples in advance. Immediately after hearing Peter's confession in Caesarea Philippi, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Matthew 16:16), he told his disciples about his death and resurrection (Matthew 16:21). We even designated a place to meet again after resurrection. “After I am risen, I will go before you into Galilee” (Matthew 26:32). However, the disciples did not even acknowledge the death of the Lord. Later, even after the Lord was arrested and crucified, he had no expectation or faith in the resurrection. They had to hide in fear. When the women heard that the body of the Lord was missing, the disciples had to run to Galilee rather than run to the tomb to check the body.
Galilee is the place where the Lord confirms the fact of the resurrection. Fear and despair are the beliefs of death. Even today, there are those who have faith in the resurrection, and there are those who have faith in death. What is the Resurrection Faith? It is completely trusting the Lord and His Word. When the Israelites completely trusted God through Moses, they experienced the miracle of the Exodus. They crossed the Red Sea like land. Over 2 million people spent 40 years in the desert where there was nothing. But when they did not fully trust in God, they could not possess the land flowing with milk and honey called Canaan.
There are people who go to church and say they are believers, but do not experience the power of God. These are people who are desperate and frustrated because they cannot hold on to the Word of God in front of certain situations. Those who hold on to the word of the Lord and trust completely will have faith in the resurrection. You must go to Galilee, but don't be a fool running to the grave. Even though trusting God's Word and putting it into practice is the right answer, don't you trust the world's methods?
Mark 5:21-43 introduces the raising of the daughter of Jairus, the ruler of the synagogue, and the healing of a woman who had been bleeding for 12 years. Jairus, the ruler of the synagogue, first came to the Lord, told him that his daughter was sick and dying, and asked him to heal him. The Lord was going with Jairus to Jairus's house. At that time, a woman, who had been suffering from bleeding for twelve years, secretly came to the Lord from among many people, touched the hem of His robe, and was miraculously healed. When the Lord asked, “Who touched the hem of my robe?” the woman came to the Lord and told her what she was doing. Just then a man came from Jairus' house. Jairus' daughter died. The Lord said that he no longer had to go to Jairus' house. Jairus was also in an environment of despair. Then the Lord urged Jairus, “Do not be afraid, only believe.” Jairus also did not despair and trusted in the Lord. The Lord raised the daughter of Jairus from the dead. Jairus' faith in the Lord was his faith in the resurrection.
Running to Galilee is the faith of the resurrection. Even in the realities of our lives, there are still those who run to the stone tombs. In the stone tomb, only despair, sadness, and frustration await us. There is no hope or power there. The power of resurrection is in Galilee. To go to Galilee is to obey the word of the Lord. When we obey and practice the word of the Lord, that is Galilee. The power of resurrection is revealed where we obey the Word.
2. Galilee is the starting point of witnessing the fact of the resurrection.
The Lord asked the disciples to meet in Galilee after the resurrection. Galilee is also a place to confirm the fact of the Lord's resurrection, but it was also the starting point of witnessing the fact of the Lord's resurrection to the whole world. Matthew 28:16-20 “The eleven disciples went to Galilee and came to the mountain that Jesus had pointed out, where they saw Jesus and worshiped him, but there were still those who doubted. Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the world.”
Evidence of the gospel begins with those who have faith in the resurrection. The gospel without faith in the resurrection not only has no power but also loses the core of the gospel. When we evangelize, if we do not preach the Cross and Resurrection of the Lord, which are the core of Christianity, we are preaching the outer shell, which is the outermost thing, it cannot be the Gospel. The disciples received the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost and boldly testified of the blessings, and their core words were the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. When Matthias was elected instead of Judas Iscariot, he said, “You must make them a witness with us to the resurrection of Jesus” (Acts 1:22). He introduced the gracious early church in Jerusalem, saying, “The crowd received great favor, when the apostles testified of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus with great power” (Acts 4:33).
In a sense, the Lord wants to meet in Galilee while telling his disciples the facts of the cross and resurrection to award the certificate of completion of three years of training. The graduation ceremony is the same as the sending ceremony of the Gospel witness. Saints must meet Jesus Christ and live as witnesses of the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ in the world through faith training. Your home should be a place of gospel witness. The workplace should be a place of gospel witness. No matter where we live, it should be a blessed place to testify to the cross and resurrection of the Lord. Deacon Stephen testified of the fact of the cross and resurrection of the Lord to the Jews who were throwing stones at him. At the Council of the Sanhedrin, Peter testified of the cross and resurrection of the Lord. To those who warn them not to bear witness, Peter said, “It is more appropriate to obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging on a tree, and raised him up with his right hand to give Israel repentance and forgiveness of sins, and exalted him to the king. and our Savior, and we are witnesses of these things” (Acts 5:29-32).
Dear saints,