This is an exposition of Luke 24:44-53. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday morning, March 18, 2018.
Intro:
We are a mission people. As Southern Baptist we were born out of mission concerns. Yes, racial issues were involved. We were born in the South in the year 1845. Slavery is a stain that marks our beginnings and it is a stain we can never removed.
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To our everlasting shame our forefathers were slaveholders. For that reason Northern mission sending agencies refused to appoint missionaries from Southern churches. The Baptist churches of the South banded together to form a new convention and the first item of business was the establishment of the Foreign Mission Board. Fast forward to today and we, as Southern Baptist, have 4000 missionaries serving in over 100 countries around the world through our International Mission Board. We have another 5000 missionaries serving the United States and Canada through the North American Mission Board. Last year Southern Baptist gave $153,000,000 to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions. We gave another $59,000,000 to the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering for North American Missions. Those monies are in addition to what is already given through the Cooperative Program. Add to that thousands of churches who sent members out on short-term mission trips like our folks going to Nicaragua and you see, we are a mission people. We believe we are called to take the good news of the gospel to the world. We also know that missions start here, outside our own front door and it extends to the ends of the earth. We are a mission people not because in 1845 we decided to make that an emphasis but because we have been commanded and commissioned by our king.
It had been an extraordinary day. It began with the report from some women who came with the news of an empty tomb and an angelic announcement. Others went to the tomb and confirmed it was empty. Throughout the day there were reports of various sightings. That night two disciples from Emmaus came with a fantastic tale of the risen Lord and his journey with them and a remarkable sermon. Finally, with all of the them gathered in an upper room the Lord himself appeared before the whole gathering and brought the announcement of peace. It was a long, emotionally and physically draining day but it was not over. Our Lord had something more to say. Our text is found in Luke chapter 24 beginning with verse 44.
Text: Luke 24:44-53
If we just had Luke’s gospel we might think that Jesus ascended into glory the very day he rose from the dead. But of course we are not left with just Luke’s gospel, we have the other gospels and we have Luke’s second volume, the book of Acts. From Acts we know that our Lord was around for 40 days after the resurrection. During those 40 days he met with the disciples and taught them. It was a time of preparation for the work that was to be entrusted to them and in turn to us. There is some questions as to whether the teaching we read of here in our text took place that night or is this a summary of what he taught over that 40 day period. My answer is, “Yes.” I believe he taught them that night and he reinforced the same message over and over for the next 40 days.
We have in this text, Luke’s version of the “Great Commission.” These are our marching orders. This is the task assigned. This is what the church is to be about. We are on mission. It is clear from this text that…
Thesis: The risen Lord commissions and empowers His church to take His Gospel to the nations.
The key is verse 47 - …that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
We are called to proclaim, announce, or declare his message to the nations.
The word nations is “ethnos” or peoples (ethnic).
There are three things I want to point out from our text.
- The Lord graciously grants believers a genuine understanding of the gospel. (24:44-45)
- The risen Lord commissions His church to take His Gospel to the nations. (24:46-47)
- The risen Lord promises to empower His church to fulfill the task assigned. (24:48-49)
Conclusion:
God has promised the Holy Spirit to equip and empower us for the work assigned. The gospel advanced when the messengers were empowered by the Holy Spirit so that they spoke with great boldness and the Spirit was pleased to do his work of regeneration. Thus Paul said to the church at Thessalonica, “Our gospel came to you not simply with words, but with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction” (1 These 1:5).
May we be a gospel people devoted to the mission of the church empowered by the Holy Spirit and determined to be at the task assigned until He comes or calls us home!
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