#199 Lu. 24:46-48 THE GOSPEL SENT TO THE WORLD

Introduction:

	Jesus called out His first disciples and organized His church
in Galilee.  His church grew to a sizable number there in
Galilee.  Most of them left Galilee and traveled with Jesus to
Jerusalem to observe the Passover.  They were there when He was
crucified.  It was there in Jerusalem that He made His first
post-resurrection appearances to them.  According to Matthew, the
disciples met Him in a mountain in Galilee where He gave the
Great Commission.  In this commission, He commanded them to go
into all the world and preach the gospel.

I.  A reminder of the necessity of His suffering, V. 46a

	Before they left Galilee Jesus forewarned them that He would
suffer at the hands of the Jewish leaders at Jerusalem.  As they
traveled, He repeated that warning and informed them that He
would be put to death by crucifixion.  After they reached
Jerusalem He reminded them more than once that He would be put to
death.
	After He was crucified, Jesus used the Old Testament
Scriptures to teach them that it was necessary for Him to be
crucified.  He showed them that it was the Father's will.
	There was no other way for sinful man to be saved other than
for Him to suffer and die.  Adam had sinned and, as a result, all
of his descendants inherited the nature of sin.  Since they all
inherited Adam's sin nature, then all committed sin.
	No man could be saved by his own efforts.  No man could keep
the law and, therefore, no man could be saved through the keeping
law.  No man could avoid the fires of heaven and go to heaven
except Jesus pay the redemption price by His own blood.  If there
had been any other way for man to be saved, God would not have
sent His Son to the cross.
	
II.  The necessity of the resurrection, V. 46 b

	Jesus was born in a physical body.  He lived in a physical
body.  He was crucified in a physical body.  It was His physical
body to which spices were applied and was wrapped with linen
cloth.  His physical body stayed in Joseph's tomb for three days
and three nights.
	It was His physical body that came alive when His Spirit
returned after three days and nights.  It was His physical body
that arose from the grave.  When the women went to the tomb they
did not find His body there.  When He appeared in the midst of
His disciples He invited them to touch His physical body.
	Jesus arose physically from the grave and He lives today.  He
will continue to live for evermore.  Because He ever lives, He is
able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him.

III.  The necessity of the preaching of the gospel, V. 47

	Jesus told His disciples that they should preach repentance
and remission of sin in His name to all nations beginning at
Jerusalem.
	The word, repentance, involves a change of mind.  It involves
the kind of change of mind that brings deep remorse to a sinner
because of his guilt of sin.  It brings the kind of change that
causes one to turn to God and seek forgiveness of sin.  It causes
one to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of his
sin.  He trusts in Jesus to save him from his sin and from the
penalty of his sin.
	The term "remittance of sin" means that one's sin can be
remitted.  They can be forgiven.  One can be cleansed from the
guilt of his sin and set free from the penalty of his sin.
	The way that the lost sinner's sins can be forgiven is
through the Lord Jesus Christ.  Everyone who trusts in Jesus
Christ as his Savior will have his sins remitted.  The blood of
Jesus Christ will cleans him from every sin.
	The preaching of remittance of sin through faith in the Lord
Jesus Christ was to be done in the name of Jesus.  That is, it
was to be preached by the authority of Jesus.  It has His full
endorsement.  That means that just as surely as one repents of
his sin and trusts in Jesus for forgiveness of his sins, just
that surely his sins will be remitted.  His sins will be
remitted.  Any lost sinner who will trust Jesus as his Savior
will be saved.

IV.  The starting place, V. 47

	Jesus said that the church should start on this world-wide
mission at Jerusalem.  Jesus, Himself, had already preached the
gospel in Galilee.  His apostles had also.  Then He sent the
twelve throughout Israel to preach the gospel to the lost sheep
of the house of Israel.  Later He called seventy other men to
preach and He sent them out two-by-two to also preach the gospel
to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.  So the starting place
for preaching the gospel to Israel under the Limited Commission
was Galilee.
	But the starting place for preaching the gospel to the entire
world under the Great Commission was to be Jerusalem.  This was
very fitting.  They were to start at the place where He was
crucified and resurrected from the grave.
	From Jerusalem it was to be preached to all the world.  Every
nation is important to God.  Every race of people is important to
God.  Every tongue or language is important to God.  Every city
is important to God.  Every little village is important to God.
Every home is important to God.  Every man is important to God.
Every woman is important to God.  Every boy and girl is important
to God.  God wants all to hear the gospel and God wants all to be
saved.

V.  The importance of every witness, V. 48

	The disciples were to be His witnesses.  The entire group of
disciples were to be His witnesses.  The entire church membership
was to be His witnesses.
	These were the people who had heard His teaching and
preaching.  These were the people who had seen His crucifixion.
These were the people who seen Him after His resurrection.  They
had heard with their ears, seen with their eyes and touched with
their hands.  They could witness of a truth that He had come
forth from the grave.
	They were also the witnesses that He can forgive sin.  They
had heard Him tell lame man that his sins are forgiven.  They had
seen with their eyes as Jesus gave proof that the mans's sins
were forgiven by causing him to take up his bed and walk.  They
could say of a truth that He forgives sin.
	Now all of those witnesses are gone.  They are all dead.  Not
one of them is alive today.  Now the responsibility of witnessing
for Jesus rests upon us.  It rests upon every saved person,
especially every one who holds membership in one of the Lord's
churches.  That responsibility belongs to me and it belongs to
you.  It does not belong to us preachers alone; it belongs to us
all.
	But the question is:  How can we witness for Him when we have
not seen and heard?  We were not there to hear Him teach and
preach.  We were not there to seen Him crucified.  We were not
there to see Him after He arose from the grave.  How can we be
His witnesses when we have not seen and heard?
	The answer is:  We can.  We actually have a better testimony
than they did.  We have the very inspired word of God to read and
study and present to the people.  The holy, inspired word of God
is better than man's own word any day of the week.  If men will
not believe the word of God, they would not believe any other
evidence which we could present.

Conclusion:

	The gospel message is true and worthy of our witness.  Let us
present it to all men.  Let us carry it to all the world.
	The gospel message is true and is worthy of believing.  Those
who are lost in sin should believe this message today.
	The gospel message is intended for you.  God wants you to
hear it and God wants you to believe it.