Text: Matthew 28:18-20

Title: Jesus’ presence is our assurance for the future

Date: 12 April 2021 (Dies Natalis STT)

Introduction
On this 43rd Dies Natalis (anniversary), the community of Sekolah Tinggi Theologia
(STT) looks both to the past and to the future. We give thanks for God’s blessings bestowed
throughout our history: for the people who supported STT; for the growth of the academic
program; for the expansion and improvement of the school’s facilities. We pray that God will
sustain this school during the coming years.

Admittedly, it is easier to think about the past, because we can remember our successes
and forget our failures. The future is more difficult to consider because it is unknown, and it
makes us anxious and doubtful. In the verse preceding today’s scripture reading from
Matthew 28, the Evangelist states that some of the disciples doubted (v 17). Commentators
suggest that they were uncertain whether they could continue proclaiming God’s kingdom in
the future (Gibbs, Concordia Commentary, 1630)—as Jesus had commanded them (Matt
10:7-8).

Perhaps like Jesus’ disciples, we are doubtful about the future of STT. After all, in our
increasingly secular and individualistic world, many people reject faith and the church.
So if our school’s mission is to train those who make disciples, will it continue to have a
meaningful role in church and society? What can we do to meet various challenges and
ensure the future of STT? There are three possibilities.

First, we can strive for better planning. Did not the Lord Jesus himself commend
planning with the example of men estimating the cost of a tower before building it (Luke
14:28-30)? So we will have more planning meetings. We will have longer planning meetings!
We will make no decision without a period of reflection, study and seeking good advice.
Surely more planning will better prepare us for the future!

Second, we can strive for more passion. Did not the Apostle Paul encourage passion
and hard work when he told the Colossians: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart,
as working for the Lord” (3:23)? So, we will work longer hours. We will prepare more
financial reports. We will put more details about first-century Judaism and the Dead Sea
Scrolls into our lectures. Surely, harder, more passionate work will make STT a better school,
and therefore more viable in the future!

Third, we can strive for constant prayer. Did not Jesus encourage us “to always pray
and never give up” (Luke 18:1)? Did he not assure us that those who ask will receive? So we
will pray for STT in every chapel service, in all the Sunday service of our churches, and in all
of our private prayer times. Surely if we pray harder, the Lord will provide STT with all the
financial support and students it needs to succeed in the future.

Well, indeed, planning, passion and prayer are good things, and we certainly should not
neglect prayer. But if we think that a successful future rests on our own works and efforts,
aren’t we really building our house on sand? After all: plans may fail because of
unanticipated circumstances—like pandemics. Passion may wane because the frail human
spirit cannot sustain it indefinitely. Prayer may falter because of distractions. If our efforts
alone cannot ensure STT’s future, what can? I believe that our scripture text, Matthew ch 28,

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vv 18-20, lays the foundation for our future! So please permit me to share with you today
why

Jesus’ promise to be with us is our assurance for the future.

Point 1. In the first place, Jesus’ presence assures us that God will empower our work.

Explanation 1
Jesus’ statement “I am with you to the very end of the age” (v 20) is more than a wish or
a sentimental thought. It is a promise that he will act powerfully through the disciples to save.
The words “I am with you” remind us of Matthew chapter 1, where we are told that Jesus
fulfills Isaiah’s prophecy of Emanuel, the child whose name means “God with us.” Emanuel
would be a sign that God was with King Ahaz and Judah to spare them from their enemies (Is
7:10-17). “I am with you” was also God’s promise to accompany and empower Moses for
his tasks of speaking to Pharaoh and leading the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt.

When Jesus says “I am with you” to his disciples, it means that he will accompany
them and so empower their work that it saves. The Book of Acts records, in fact, how their
preaching created faith (ch 2:41), and how they healed the crippled (3:7-8) and caste out
spirits (16:18). And if Jesus is with his disciples “until the very end of the age,” then he is
powerfully with STT to make it an instrument of God’s salvation.

Illustration 1
The knowledge that God’s power is working in our ministries is very reassuring as we
look to the future. Indeed, the presence of power is always reassuring. Right now my car, a
Kia Rio S-type, sits idle in the garage of my home back in the USA. Because it is not being
driven anywhere, the battery is not holding a charge, and my cousin John has to keep it
plugged into a special car battery charging device. Even that does not help the situation
entirely, because sometimes the car still does not start; it needs to be run regularly on the
road. Because of these “power problems,” I find myself anxious about returning home to the
USA for vacation and finding a car unable to run when I want to drive to the grocery store or
to the swimming pool. If I knew for certain that my car had sufficient power to operate, I
would be less anxious and more confident about returning home for holiday!

Application 1
Thankfully, the power of Jesus is with the faculty and staff of STT as we equip future
teachers and preachers for the work of making disciples. So we can be confident that, with
God’s help and power, our graduates’ words will move people from doubt to belief,
disobedience to obedience, and from death to life. The assurance that God’s saving power is
at work in our work is also comforting because it means that the effectiveness of ministry
does not depend entirely on us. If everything in ministry depended on me, I would fail or be
discouraged easily, for I am a sinner, like Peter who denied Jesus and his fellow disciples
who abandoned Jesus. Without the promise of Jesus’ powerful presence, I am like a lone
soldier armed with only his rifle and body armor, facing an army of thousands with their
tanks, artillery, and helicopters. But because I know Jesus is fighting by my side, I can
engage the enemy, for Jesus is stronger than any foe on earth, and he will triumph through
me. Friends in Christ: be assured today that Jesus is fighting alongside YOU so that your
work (whether admin staff, teacher, administrator or student) will contribute to the church’s
work of making disciples.

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Transition: While Jesus’ presence assures us that God empowers our work, the reality is that
some people will not accept the gospel and those who proclaim it. How can we be hopeful
about the future in the face of rejection? But take heart friends: God certainly will not reject
our labors. So this brings me to my second point:

Point 2: Jesus’ presence assures us that God will accept our work.

Explanation 2
Why will God accept our work? The answer is that the One who accompanies us is no
ordinary person. In today’s text Jesus states that “all authority in heaven and on earth has
been given to me” (v 18). This means that Jesus speaks and acts as someone accepted and
approved by God – the resurrection being the chief sign of the Father’s acceptance of him.
(You only give authority to someone whom you find acceptable, that is, someone who can
use that authority faithfully.) If we obey Jesus' authoritative command, we obey not only
someone who is accepted by God, but who IS God, for by his resurrection he has obtained
power over life and death. Accordingly OUR work will be accepted and approved by the
Father—for Jesus’ sake. Because Jesus is with us, we do not labor in vain, and we can look
forward to the Father saying to us: “Well done good and faithful servants!”

Illustration 2
Imagine that you are a medical worker tasked with administering COVID 19 vaccinations
in some remote area of your country. You might wonder whether the people living there will
accept you AND accept a vaccination! So you are anxious and apprehensive about your
mission.

But then you are told that a local government health official will accompany you. The
presence of this authority figure gives you assurance. You know that your work now has
authority and legitimacy in the eyes of the provincial government, and in the eyes of the
people. You know that the local government backs you up and will support you in difficulty.
Now, just as the local government official is the authority for medical vaccination work,
Jesus is the authority accompanying our work of inoculating the world with the gospel!

Application 2
Accordingly, my teaching colleagues and you administrators of STT: Do not be
discouraged by people who do not entirely accept the validity of theological education
because, in their view, personal charisma rather than theological education is what makes a
true minister of God. The detractors of theological education perhaps forget that the Lord
Jesus himself valued instruction, as his command to teach clearly indicates! You need not
apologize for prioritizing the theological education of ministers and church workers! Jesus is
with you in your work of helping to prepare the church’s future preachers and teachers. Be
confident about this work because it is accepted by God.

Likewise, dear students and alumni of STT: be confident about your work! Yes, you
might wonder what value preaching and teaching God’s truth revealed in Jesus has in these
times when people deny the legitimacy of any authoritative truth claim and so create their
own truth and their own versions of Christianity. Such persons cannot accept the idea that
they need the salvation Jesus won for us by his cross. Certainly, they cannot accept you who
would proclaim the wisdom of the cross! But remember: God accepts you because Jesus is
with you! Because Jesus is with you and your ministry is acceptable to his Father, God will
send the Holy Spirit to work through your words—even to overcome the doubt and

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skepticism of the postmodern person! Trust that your words will give sight to the spiritually
blind, heal unhealthy souls, and raise the inwardly dead!

But hear this note of caution: Jesus’ acceptance of you is no excuse for sloppy,
thoughtless preaching and teaching—as if Jesus will magically enable people to hear the right
thing if you say the wrong thing! Jesus said “Teach them to obey what I have commanded
you.” Jesus expects our preaching and teaching to reflect what he taught—even the difficult
truths that he highlights. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus teaches that it is not good enough
to abstain from murder; we have to abstain from speaking angry, hateful words to people!
(Mt 5:22). He said that it is insufficient to just love our neighbors and hate our enemies; we
have to love even our enemies as well. (5:44) Thus Jesus showed us how difficult it really is
to fulfill the law by loving our neighbors. He points to our need for a righteousness that
comes from outside ourselves, namely, from God. This means that while we preachers must
forthrightly show people their sins and failings, we cannot allow them to think that just
because they outwardly obey the Second Table of the Ten Commandments they are truly
righteous people.

We are called to proclaim a righteousness that comes from faith in Jesus Christ and his
saving death for our sins! It is through this faith that we all obtain the Spirit who creates in us
new hearts that gladly obey the law and do more than fulfill the letter of the law. Thus
preaching and teaching that is faithful to Jesus requires that we properly distinguish between
law and gospel, and between a righteousness of works and a righteousness of faith! So by all
means preach the law, but do not preach an easy legalism (“Do this and everything will be
OK between you and God); preach the law in light of the gospel. Teach the truth that only
through faith in Christ can we fulfill the law’s demands! Like a master house builder, who
faithfully imparts the techniques of his trade to his apprentices, faithfully teach these truths to
Jesus’ apprentices so that they can construct beautiful spiritual houses.

Conclusion
Today, we give thanks for the people who built this house of learning 43 years ago. But
chiefly we are thankful for the Master Builder of STT, the Lord Jesus, because his life-giving
presence assures us that God empowers our work, and his authoritative presence assures us
that God accepts our work.

May Jesus be with us always!

Amen