Matthew 28 - The Great Commission

Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them. And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted. And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 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 28:16-20.

The first followers to witness Jesus' resurrection from the dead were the women who ministered to Him. They experienced an angelic announcement to go and tell the other disciples, and then as they went in obedience, they had a personal encounter with Jesus! Think about that! As they were traveling back from the empty tomb to the place where the disciples were hidden away in fear, Jesus met them on the road. Jesus encouraged these women to continue believing and acting in obedience. He knew there would be doubts from some of the twelve (Thomas), but they were to press forward in faith and share the good news. Sadly, the disciples missed this divine opportunity that the women experienced.  

Matthew ends with the disciples returning to Galilee and experiencing their own personal encounter with Jesus. Even though there were some doubts, they accepted His mandate to go into all the known world surrounding Israel and share the Gospel with all nations. And the disciples (including the Apostle Paul) did just that. By the time Judgment Day came in 70 AD, the disciples and apostles had completed their task of delivering the message of Jesus and the New Kingdom, just as the Lord directed! 

Today, we the church, the body of Christ, are to continue that mandate - to share the good news of the Gospel and advance the Kingdom!

Links:
https://pjmiller.wordpress.com/2009/03/26/unheeded-or-misinterpreted-signs-the-destruction-of-jerusalem-70ad/

http://bible.christiansunite.com/jos/warindex.shtml

http://www.allthingsfulfilled.com/

http://www.godandscience.org/apologetics/haggadah.html

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/eschatology-allthingsfulfilled

Matthew 27 - Delivered from the Pains of Death

Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many. Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God. Matthew 27: 50-54. 

The Bible makes it very clear that Jesus suffered greatly on the cross, both physically and spiritually. We considered Psalms 22 in other teachings, but one should also consider Psalms 116:3, which states that The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow, as well as Acts 2:24, which states that Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it. There was a great suffering on that day that none of us who are in Christ will every experience, praise God. That suffering, along with His shed blood, were sufficient to satisfy the penalty for sin required by the Law, AND exceed it. God raised Jesus up as proof that death and sin no longer had power over Israel under that old, Mosaic, temple system. A new temple was being established, a spiritual temple, which was Christ (and His body - the church).

Another sign that the Law had been satisfied was the renting of the temple veil separating the Most Holy Place - it was split from top to bottom - not so that man could come in to where God dwelled, necessarily, but so that God could rush out to His people and dwell amongst them, a desire of His from the beginning of time. 

There were other signs of Jesus' divinity, which were witnessed by the Roman soldiers who had tortured Him and hung Him on the cross, as well as some of the women followers. We also see in Matthew that, after Jesus' resurrection, the graves of the saints were opened, and these saints went into Jerusalem and showed themselves to many. We do not have any additional evidence of this event in the Word or from historians, but we must believe it by faith. Just as Lazarus came out of the tomb in John 11, these saints who had died under the Old Covenant came out of their tombs after Jesus' resurrection. 

But there was a spiritual resurrection to come, when the entire Old Covenant, Mosaic temple system came to its finality in 70 AD and the New Covenant/Kingdom of God came. Jesus is here and lives in the hearts and minds of His people, the church! That is very good news!

Links:
https://pjmiller.wordpress.com/2009/03/26/unheeded-or-misinterpreted-signs-the-destruction-of-jerusalem-70ad/

http://bible.christiansunite.com/jos/warindex.shtml

http://www.allthingsfulfilled.com/

http://www.godandscience.org/apologetics/haggadah.html

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/eschatology-allthingsfulfilled