I prepared my Palm Sunday sermon last week, and since then it’s just been sitting in the furnace of my soul, growing brighter and purer. Crowds are the crux of my message: how they are fickle, unfaithful and even dangerous to our faith. I plan on comparing the Palm Sunday crowd to the crowd of Julius Caesar; plebeians are easily led astray. Our altar time will include a call to take a stand, to lock eyes with Jesus and hold fast to truth.
Then in this morning’s reading, I notice how Jesus tells the women to send the disciples back to Galilee to meet with Him once more.
“Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, there they will see Me.” (Matthew 28:10 NIV)
This wasn’t the first time Jesus had given His disciples these instructions. Nope, this was the reminder ding going off in their souls. At the Last Supper, Jesus had warned them of falling away and told them how to recover in the next sentence.
“Then Jesus told them, “This very night you will all fall away on account of Me, for it is written “I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.” But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.” (Matthew 26:31-32 NIV)
Perhaps they were so busy about their objections that they missed these important instructions? Or the trauma of Good Friday and Black Saturday had wiped their memory card clean? Jesus compassionately took their forgetfulness into account and sent these fearful, joyful and obedient women back to their friends with a meet-up message. “Go to Galilee.”
My bible app reading this morning pointed out how Galilee was a place of personal significance for these men. Galilee is where most of them had initially met Jesus and first responded to His call. It’s notable that these disciples who had disqualified themselves in their Master’s hour of need would now have opportunity to confirm their calling a second time. Galilee was a significant journey from Jerusalem: the disciples would have many miles to sort through their failings and feelings along the way. This feels like mercy to me.
Additionally; we tend to think of Easter crowds and choruses: “He is risen!” How easy it is to worship with the throng on Sunday; especially the high church holidays like Easter and Christmas. How much harder is it to walk the road of repentance toward confession and restoration in a remote location?
This is so typical of Jesus. He is constantly pulling us away from crowds and toward more intimate relationship with Him. He calls us back to first love. He longs for us to to simply sit in His presence and enjoy His friendship. It is in these powerful, personal moments that He shares specific instructions about purpose and priorities. We see it here, in the last chapter of Matthew. Jesus meets His disciples on the side of a mountain, He gives last instructions on the Great Commission and promises to be with them until the very end of the age.
We are often keen on being part of the crowd following Jesus, but rarely willing to step away just to be with Him. As we approach Passion Week, I encourage you to find some alone time with the Lord. Take a long walk. Find a park bench with a peaceful view. Sit in a silent sanctuary. Learn to still your soul before the Lord of all. This is the level of relationship He is searching for: men and women who are committed to live in ongoing intimacy with Him. It is in these moments of set apartness where we experience Him the most profoundly. It is where we are made holy. Perhaps that is why we are so afraid of such separation?
“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been give to Me. Therefore 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. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20 NIV)
Lord, forgive us for our tendency to follow the crowd. We realize today how the crowd is fickle, feelings-oriented and easily persuaded. We don’t want to live like that. Instead, give us the guts to get away with You. May we willingly follow You to set-apart places, craving Your presence above the approval of others. In the coming week, help us carve out time to sit with You and hear Your heart. Recreate us in these moments. Make us the men and women of God You’ve always intended for us to be. Amen.