Peace and grace in the Lord Jesus Christ.
The whole Matthew 28 refers to 'Shekinah Glory' whereas Matthew 27 is about the sprinkling of blood.
Thus, there is resurrection and glory behind the death experience.
Matthew 28:1-2
28:1 Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb.
28:2 And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it.
It has happened to Mary Magdalene and her friend who are faithful enjoying the death experience, so they can experience the resurrection and glory as Jesus has.
2 Timothy 2:8
2:8 Remember that Jesus Christ, of the seed of David, was raised from the dead according to my gospel,
Matthew 22:42-44
22:42 saying, "What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?" They said to Him, "The Son of David."
22:43 He said to them, "How then does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying:
22:44 ‘The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool"‘?
Jesus as a human is the descendant of David. He has died, risen, and ascended to heaven to get the glory at the right hand of Father God
Thus, the way of death, resurrection, and glory has been pioneered by Jesus.
Why must Jesus become the pioneer of the way of death, resurrection, and glory up to the throne of heaven?
God blesses you.
The whole Matthew 28 refers to 'Shekinah Glory' whereas Matthew 27 is about the sprinkling of blood.
Thus, there is resurrection and glory behind the death experience.
Matthew 28:1-2
28:1 Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb.
28:2 And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it.
It has happened to Mary Magdalene and her friend who are faithful enjoying the death experience, so they can experience the resurrection and glory as Jesus has.
2 Timothy 2:8
2:8 Remember that Jesus Christ, of the seed of David, was raised from the dead according to my gospel,
Matthew 22:42-44
22:42 saying, "What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?" They said to Him, "The Son of David."
22:43 He said to them, "How then does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying:
22:44 ‘The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool"‘?
Jesus as a human is the descendant of David. He has died, risen, and ascended to heaven to get the glory at the right hand of Father God
Thus, the way of death, resurrection, and glory has been pioneered by Jesus.
Why must Jesus become the pioneer of the way of death, resurrection, and glory up to the throne of heaven?
- To make us follow only His step, so we need not make our own way or go astray.
1 Peter 2:21
2:21 For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps:
Where can we follow His step?
John 10:4
10:4 "And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.
We can follow His step in the shepherding. Going out of the shepherding means creating our own solution and we will go astray or get lost.
How can we follow Jesus’ step?
It is through the voice of Shepherd, namely the true Shepherding Word.
John 10:5
10:5 "Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers."
Be alert! There is strange voice in the shepherding which is not in line with the Shepherding Word. Following the strange voice means creating our own way and we will go astray or get lost for sure. If we are well-shepherded, we will never be willing to hear the strange voice, even we will run away from it.
The Shepherding Word is the true teaching Word Great Shepherd trusts to a human pastor to preach to the congregation faithfully, continually, and repetitively to become:- spiritual food, so the congregation may grow;
- command rod, so we may know what we must do;
- signpost, so we will not get lost. It is as the guidance of the hands of the Great Shepherd.
- To lead us to enter the sheepfold.
John 10:1-3
10:1 "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.
10:2 "But he who entersby the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
10:3 "To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
One proof of the presence of the Shepherding Word is the perseverance of the congregation in doing three main services in the Holy Place as the sheep’s dwelling in the sheepfold as follows.- Golden Candlestick or perseverance in doing General Service and the true fellowship.
- Table of Showbread or perseverance in doing Bible Study Service with Holy Communion.
- Golden Altar of Incense or perseverance in doing Prayer Service.
10:9 "I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.
10:10 "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
To enter the sheepfold, we must pass through a narrow gate, referring to the tearing of flesh. It must begin from a pastor. The sheep will be scattered if the pastor is not inside the sheepfold. Such pastor becomes a thief and killer. Moreover, the sheep that do not want to enter the shepherding are also the thief and killer.
Entering the sheepfold is indeed heavy thing for our flesh but it makes our life light.
As a result, there is abundant spiritual and physical life. Physically, we will not lack of anything and we always give thanks to God. Spiritually, we are in peace and we always give thanks. - Golden Candlestick or perseverance in doing General Service and the true fellowship.
- To lead us out.
John 10:3
10:3 "To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
John 10:16
10:16 "And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.
Meaning we can enter the inter-shepherding fellowship through the one voice of Shepherd until we can be one body with one Head. We can enter the revival of the building of Christ’s perfect body.
The house of God is built on Mount Moriah, where Abraham has offered Isaac. If we are employed in the building of Christ’s body, all our offering will not be useless. We find Jehovah Jireh, who provides all things, even the thing which does not exist yet. We must offer all things for the building of Christ’s body except the true teaching Word.
- spiritual food, so the congregation may grow;
- To pour out Holy Spirit to become an extra power for our life in the wilderness.
John 16:7
16:7 "Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.
Satan makes the world as the wilderness which is hot at day and cold at night, so all things will be decayed.
Holy Spirit becomes the pillar of clouds and the pillar of fire in the wilderness.
The function of the pillar of fire at night is as follows.- To give us light, so we will not stumble in sin, including the sin of forsaking service and ministry.
- To give us warmth, so we will not be cold in our spirituality or bored of hearing the Word and ministering to God, but we can keep faithful and fervent in spirit.
- To give us energy or power to be strong and of good courage. It means we will not be doubtful, tired, and negligent but we endure with strength to follow God until the end.
- To protect us from the heat of the day, referring to temptations and impossible problems. It makes us not depart from faith but keep on believing and hoping in God, so Holy Spirit solves all problems even the impossible one.
- To give us peace and rest in the middle of hot wilderness.
Holy Spirit helps us to be renewed from carnal men to spiritual ones as Jesus is.
1 John 2:17
2:17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of Godabides forever.
The life renewal begins from obedience to the Shepherding Word. The rich and intelligent will perish together with the world but the obedient will not perish. We will be changed to become as glorious as Jesus is and lifted up on glorious clouds to sit with Him on His throne. - To give us light, so we will not stumble in sin, including the sin of forsaking service and ministry.
God blesses you.