God always meets us in the in-between. That’s where life happens, shaping the hills and the valleys. Our character is formed, our calling is reinforced, and our confidence is established in the events that connect the big defining moments together.
While reading one of my favorite, and also extremely familiar passages in Scripture, God reminded me that what we may not have memorized in Scripture is still significant, even though the words may not get posted on the bulletin board.
All Scripture is God-breathed. Every single word is meaningful, because God made sure it was there.
Life begins in God’s very Word. His very breath gives us life, meaning, purpose and direction. His Words matter.
The last God-inspired words Matthew wrote in his Gospel were also some of the last words Jesus spoke on earth before He ascended into Heaven.
Matthew captures the moment in Chapter 28:16-20.
Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
While reading this passage again this past week, it was the in-between words that caught my attention.
Jesus came to them and said
The disciples had come to the place Jesus had told them to go, and He showed up. In the midst of their worship and their lingering doubts, Jesus came to them and spoke life, purpose and love.
Jesus came.
Immanuel, God with us, came. He had defeated sin, death and hell, and He came back. He drew close.
Jesus came to them.
Here were the 11 disciples, going to where Jesus had told them to go. The whirlwind they had just gone through the last 40 days was unimaginable. The arrest, crucifixion, death and burial, then resurrection of the man they had followed and given their life to was like whiplash to their souls. Maybe in this moment, they were hoping for an Elijah experience, and to hop a fiery ride up to heaven with their Risen Lord. As they knelt to worship, fear and doubt crept into the corners of some of their hearts. And yet, even in their weakness of faith, Jesus came to them. He came for them.
Jesus came to them and said.
Jesus came for them to experience His presence and His purpose. The Word of God spoke. The life-giving Savior, THE Word, opened His mouth and gave them the commission, command and confidence that only The Word could.
Jesus comes to me, and to you, too. He wants us to be close to Him, and draws us near because He loves us and wants us to know Him. He wants us to hear His voice, His call, and be changed in our response.
In that context, The Great Commission resonates even more deeply.
Because Jesus has ALL authority,
I will go:
make disciples,
baptize,
teach obedience.
And, I am sure
Jesus is with me
ALWAYS.
Jesus came to them and said.
Lord, come to us, even now, and speak.
