The Holy Trinity Blesses Us with Power!

1st Sunday after Pentecost, Holy Trinity, 6/4/23 Matthew 28:16-20 The Holy Trinity Blesses Us with Power! I. A powerful command II. Accompanied by powerful means Let’s admit it. We love the orderliness of our worship style. We always know what’s coming next. On many Sundays in worship we hear and speak the same words. And, to a great extent, you appreciate that. When you awake on Sunday morning and look forward to coming to worship, you know that worship isn’t going to be led by a clown, or a popular politician, or a famous athlete. You know what you’re going to get. And, to a great extent, you know what you’re going to hear and say. You’re going to hear readings and a sermon from the Bible. And you know you’re going to speak your “Amens,” your “Thanks be to God,” and the Lord’s Prayer. You know you’ll hear the service begin and end with a declaration of the only true God, the triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. But does the familiarity of it all tend to breed contempt? Are these just words that fall out of your mouth without any thought behind them? Do the words you hear flood your ears like so many other words, which are just floating in the background of your mind while you think about other things, such as what’s for dinner, or what you plan to do this afternoon, or all the things on your plate in the next seven days? Today we celebrate the Holy Trinity. The first spoken words of our worship and the last spoken words of our worship proclaim the triune God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And that’s not just mere formality. That’s by design. It’s been that way in the Christian church for thousands of years. And there’s power in those words—the power of the almighty, triune God himself. That’s the truth that Jesus impressed on his disciples near the end of his time on earth with them. And that’s the truth that he still impresses on his disciples—you and me—today. The Holy Trinity blesses us with power. For people who often feel like we’re languishing in this life and in this world, that’s a welcomed truth. Let’s see what Jesus has in store of us. Part I. There’s an adage which states, “A good beginning is half done.” In other words, if you set out to accomplish something and your planning and preparation allow you to start well, you are well on your way to getting your task completed. A good beginning is half done. If you pondered the opening words of our text from Matthew 28, that adage probably didn’t come to mind. Those opening words convey a problem, not a good beginning. Listen to those words once again, “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.” Panic! Some worshipped Jesus but some doubted! You mean the men Jesus had spent a full three years teaching and training doubted!? At this point in the game!? Sounds like a disaster waiting to happen. But wait a minute. Just who was doubting? It might not have been the 11 disciples. Jesus had told the women he met on Easter and all his believers to meet him in Galilee. Many commentators think that this is the event that Paul describes in 1 Corinthians when he informs us that Jesus appeared risen from the dead before 500 people at the same time. So, what did they doubt? Probably not that Jesus had risen. More likely, that this was Jesus really standing before them. Recall how other believers had that same issue on the day he rose from the dead. So how does Jesus respond to what could have been a make-or-break moment in his efforts to establish the Christian church on earth? He speaks his almighty word. Listen to those words, “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.’” There you have it. He didn’t let them consider for a moment that they might not succeed on their mission of being his apostles since some of them doubted. Truth be told, they all had their issues with Jesus and his ministry from time to time. But their work of going and making disciples wasn’t dependent on their abilities, determination, or commitment. It was dependent on their almighty Lord and Savior. He, and he alone, has all authority in heaven and earth. There is no one greater than he. There is no opposition to him that can possibly overcome him and his Church. There is nothing out of his control or beyond his knowledge. “Go and make disciples. I have all authority.” And every one of them was familiar with this work. It’s exactly what Jesus had done for them over the past three years. He had called them to faith in him, he had worked that faith in them, and now they were his disciples. That happened as they heard the words he spoke and witnessed the miracles he performed. And that’s what he commanded them to share—only what they had seen and heard from him. Nothing more. Nothing less. To bolster their resolve to obey his powerful command, he closed with these words, “Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” In spite of the fact that he would soon remove his visible presence from them, he would still be with them. He would never leave or forsake them. As they went out with the word of the Lord, they went with the presence of the Lord, every step of the way, every moment of the day. That’s what the triune God did and that’s what he still does. The triune God blesses us with power—a powerful command. Part II. I heard a report as few weeks ago on why the Russian army is having such a difficult time invading Ukraine. One of the reasons is that it’s using untrained soldiers. Apparently, the Russians went into the prisons in their country and offered the prisoners freedom if they would fight in the war. From a military standpoint, that’s a recipe for disaster, not success. So, here we have Christ’s plans for his Church on earth. He has finished his work and now he’s handing the work over to the people who were his followers. If you know anything about these people, it’s not a confidence booster. There was a time when even his own mother doubted Jesus and his work, even though she had seen and talked to the angel Gabriel just prior to her conception. The disciples witnessed countless miracles, even raising Lazarus from the dead after four days, but they didn’t get what life in the kingdom of God was all about. And now Jesus was sending them out to extend his kingdom!? Really? If the desired outcome is to bring every sinner into his kingdom, isn’t this a shaky plan for success? Isn’t it fraught with red flags that ought to cause alarm, especially to the Lord who knew these people perfectly? That might be the case, if he had not given them his powerful means to accomplish that work. He declared to them, “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.” There you have it—the power to work the miracle of faith in sinful human hearts. He told them to go and baptize in the name of the triune God. How I wish that 62 years ago, my parents would have had the ability to pull a device out of their pockets and record the video and audio of my pastor speaking these words, “Joel Robert Voss, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” If I had that recording, I would have the opportunity to watch that miracle occur every time I needed a boost in my spiritual life. There is it—the triune God making me his own dear child. But a recording doesn’t make it any more powerful. Not for me and not for you. We were baptized in God’s triune name! What power! That’s the same power he has bestowed on us as he sends us out. What’s more, he sends us out with the same word of God he gave these followers on this day in our text. “Teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” There is no insignificant teaching in the Bible. It’s all the word of Jesus. It’s all important. What we need to share, we have, by the grace of God. We have the powerful means of grace—the gospel in word and sacrament. The triune God blesses us with power—his powerful command accompanied by powerful means. Did what I just say sink in yet? Jesus gave his followers a powerful command accompanied by powerful means and look what happened. In a few days, Pentecost occurred, Peter preached law and gospel, and the disciples baptized 3,000. The Church on earth exploded. The triune God has blessed us with the same powerful command and the same powerful means. There’s no difference between our situation and theirs. But how’s it going for us? It looks at times like we’re losing. It looks like Satan and the world are winning. It looks like soon a hurricane of evil will sweep us away for good. We see church membership declining and churches closing. Church plans and programs in too many cases are on life support. It looks like we’re losing. But the Church on earth cannot lose. It wins because Christ has already won. Even the gates of hell cannot overcome what he has established. So, first let’s find forgiveness for our woe-is-our-church attitude in our victorious, conquering Savior. And then let’s take to heart the fact that the triune God blesses us with power. It’s the power that he used to bring you into the Church and it’s the power that he gave us to bring others into the Church. So, let’s go, and make disciples of all nations! Amen.