Come See and Go Tell
And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said.
Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you. And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word. (Matthew 28:5-8)
WE DO NOT KNOW FOR SURE HOW MANY WOMEN were involved in this conversation with God’s angel. Was it just the two Mary’s mentioned in Matthew 28:1? However, at the crucifixion there were “many” women watching. And many women were there beholding afar off, which followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering unto him: (Matthew 27:55).
LUKE TELLS US THAT MORE THAN TWO WOMEN reported to the apostles. It was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them, which told these things unto the apostles. And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not. (Luke 24:10-11)
A NEW THING IS HAPPENING IN THIS EVENT. It is the swinging of a great door as to how things are going to be done after this morning encounter with the angel. It probably took less than three minutes, but the wonder and amazement of it has lasted for over two thousand years.
PASTOR McGEE MAKES THIS CANDID COMMENT: “The angelic announcement ceased at this point. From here on the message would be told by human lips (emphasis added) —"Come, see…. go quickly, and tell." But before any individual attempts to witness, he must first have an unshakable conviction of the truth of the Resurrection. He must have it settled in his own mind that Christ died for his sins and was buried—"Come, see the place where the Lord lay"—and that Christ rose again—"He is not here: for he is risen." Then with these convictions, he can "go quickly, and tell." My friend, you and I are to go and we are to tell. (McGee)
GOD HAS SENT FORTH HIS SON AND NOW HE IS GOING TO SEND FORTH HIS WITNESSES. At the end of Matthew 28 we read: Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. (Matthew 2819-:20)
McGEE SAID IT SO WELL. In our witnessing, we will not go beyond what has become our bedrock conviction: Christ is alive! And because He lives we shall live also. (John 14:19) It was all clear to me when I was nine years old in October 1943. The very next day I had to tell all the boys who would listen in my 4th grade. The boys I had cussed with. They had to go to the meeting. They needed what I got at the meeting. It turned out that they didn’t want what I got at the meeting and told me to shut up about it. OK. I’ll find somebody else that will listen. That was 74 years ago and I’m still looking for people who will listen.
D.L. MOODY TOLD ABOUT BEING ON A PASSENGER TRAIN and getting bottled up with a critical man. He said, “Moody, I don’t like the way you do the Lord’s work.” Mr. Moody replied, “Well, quite frankly I don’t like the way I do it, either, at times. How do you do it?” The man replied, “Oh, I’m afraid I don’t work for the Lord very much.” Mr. Moody replied: “Well, then, I like the way I do it better than the way you do it.” I read that sixty years ago and it has encouraged me many times to keep on keeping on with the ability God gives.
THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST FROM THE DEAD must always end with our going and telling. That’s the way it started at the beginning and it’s the way it must continue. How can you say the resurrection of Christ means a lot to you if you’re not willing to talk about it? When we step in a mud hole and really mess up big-time, confess it to the Lord, make apologies as needed and keep on carrying out the Great Commission Jesus gave us.
THE APOSTLE MARK PUT IT THIS WAY: And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. (Mark 16:15) Hundreds of times I have encountered individuals and the message wells up inside of me: “Every creature. This is one of those creatures.” I can’t engage people in conversation in China or Russia, but I can certainly engage people in conversation that are within hand-shaking distance, where eye contact can be made.
IT WORKS THIS WAY: OUR CONSTANT PRAYER SHOULD BE that God will give us His power and directions. That’s all we need. We can’t reach everyone. But God knows who is going to cross our path today and tomorrow and every day. I expect to encounter someone every day. That’s why I had John 3:16 and a few short questions printed up on pink paper and folded in my shirt pocket when I go out the door. Jesus was talking to Nicodemus in John 3:16. Jesus thought it was a good thing to tell Nicodemus. It has turned out to be the most-loved Bible verse in the whole world and in every century. Take the winning verse and go with it.
LAST YEAR, I WAS IN WALMART AND ASKED A LADY CASHIER if she knew the most-loved Bible verse in the whole world for the last two thousand years. I hesitated and suddenly she blurted out: “Well, what is it?” I had run out of pink papers and yellow cards, so I quoted John 3:16 to her. When I finished, she was whispering phrases out of the verse to herself and said: “I like that!” She had never heard John 3:16. In the Bible Belt, she had never heard John 3:16. If you know John 3:16, you can ask people that question and quote the verse. And then you can talk about going to Heaven and about the urgency of being ready to die. If there is not time to talk, you have sowed the seed of the Word of God. Somebody else will come along and water it.
THIS IS HOW THEY DID IT IN THE BOOK OF ACTS: Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word. (Act 8:4) They preached Jesus out of the Old Testament. None of the New Testament had yet been written. Who was doing the preaching? The common people were doing the preaching. There was not an apostle among them. And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles. (Acts 8:1)
THE APOSTLES WERE STILL IN JERUSALEM taking care of the thousands of new converts from the day of Pentecost. As persecution scattered these Christians, they went out with a few things on the back of a donkey and told everyone who would listen about the Promised Messiah who had come, had been crucified and had risen from the dead.
Read Through the Bible in a Year
APRIL 3, 2018 – TUESDAY
A.M. Judges 10-11 P.M. Luke 9:1-36
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)
Memory Verse This Month:
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. (Matthew 28:19-20)
Song for Today:
Teach Me Lord to Wait (2:29) – (Susie Hamblen & Gaither Group)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuhxBINufzM
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