And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the consummation of the age.” Matthew 28:18-30.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God (אלהים) says:
Pentecost fulfilled. The Holy Spirit poured out on all mankind. The age of grace, the church age, the time of jubilee—slaves set free and all debts forgiven and lands restored. A time of refreshing for all those who want to come to Me through My Son. Repent, return, and restore.
“And now, brethren, I know that you acted in ignorance, just as your rulers did also. But the things which God announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Messiah would suffer, He has thus fulfilled. Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; and that He may send Jesus, the Messiah appointed for you, whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time.” Acts 3:19-21.
And now Jesus, though with you and in you by the Holy Spirit, is at My right hand as your great High Priest, ever living to make intercession for you to the uttermost.
The former priests, on the one hand, existed in greater numbers because they were prevented by death from continuing, but Jesus, on the other hand, because He continues forever, holds His priesthood permanently. Therefore He is able also to save forever (completely, to the uttermost) those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens; who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. For the Law appoints men as high priests who are weak, but the word of the oath, which came after the Law, appoints a Son, made perfect forever. Hebrews 7:23-28.
And He is also acting as your great good Shepherd, who leads you to springs of living water where I wipe every tear from your eyes.
For the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and will guide them to springs of the water of life; and God will wipe every tear from their eyes. Revelation 7:17.
Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, Jesus our Lord, equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. Hebrews 13:20-21.
And this is where our eucharistic journey of remembrance comes to a triumphant end for Jesus’ time on earth, BUT yours begins as a member of the body of Christ to go on to do the greater works in ever increasing faith from glory to glory with no limits. But keep remembering so you can go forward filled with love, gratitude and the Holy Spirit. Never forget who you are in Christ and never forget any of the benefits that are yours in Him—all the things I have freely given you in Christ Jesus your Lord. For all My magnificent promises are “YES” to you in Jesus.
Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the LORD,, O my soul, and forget none of His benefits; He pardons all your iniquities, He heals all your diseases; He redeems your life from the pit, He crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion; He satisfies your years with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle. Psalm 103:1-5.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him. as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. Just as a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him. Psalm 103:11-13.
The parting words of Jesus to His disciples are also to you. I want you to consider them now and order your days aright that you may gain wisdom of heart to live a fruitful and happy life.
Let us start with Matthew’s gospel:
And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the consummation of the age.” Matthew 28:18-30.
Here Jesus speaks of the authority (exousia) that I delegated to Him as Son of Man over the heavens and earth and He in turn, as His body and joint heirs, already in spirit seated with Him at My right hand, delegates that authority to you so that you may go forth to make disciples in all the earth. He gave you authority to baptize, to teach, and to walk with Him. Previously he had given you as His disciples the authority to cast out demons, heal the sick, and raise the dead, and of course you know from John’s Gospel that you are authorized by Jesus with the gift of His Name, His blood, and His Spirit to do the works He did and greater! John 14:12.
And this authority is again emphasized the Mark’s gospel:
And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned. These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” So then, when the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them, and confirmed the word by the miracles that followed. Mark 16:15-20.
Here Jesus directs the members of His body to go forth to preach the good news to all creation, for all creation is groaning even now waiting for the revelation of My children to rebuke storms and calm the seas as Jesus told you to do, to free the world of the corruption of sin and death unto eternal life in Jesus the Lord and King in whom alone is eternal life. And your credentials that you are sent by Him are various signs and wonders done by believers in His Name, especially focus on casting out demons, speaking in tongues, and healing the sick by transmitting the power of the Spirit in you by the laying on of your hands. And I work with you and in you to confirm My Word as you preach and teach it.
Now let us turn to Luke’s gospel.
He said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” Luke 24:46-49.
Again, the cry of John the Baptist and Jesus: “Repent! The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!” And you are to let people know that in Jesus their sins are forgiven. You are My witnesses of these things. My Spirit will give you words and a wisdom no one can take exception to or contradict.
And in John’s gospel you find many empowering words from Jesus to keep you on track with your journey forward:
So Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained.” John 20:21-23.
The gift of shalom peace and sent by Jesus as I sent Him to seek out and save the lost and undo the works of the devil, which are sickness, poverty and eternal death and all the side effects of those, such as fear, depression, oppression, and anxiety.
And when He had spoken this, He said to him, “Follow Me!” John 21:19.
And that should be your focus—keep your eyes on Jesus as you run your race for He is the author and finisher of your faith.
And this is confirmed in Jesus’ parting Words as recorded in the book of Acts:
“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” Acts 1:8.
And summing it up from John’s gospel:
You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you. This I command you, that you love one another. John 15:16-17.
And that just takes us back to the very beginning, which shows My plans do not change but are forever written in Heaven, in spite of all the devil’s efforts to change it:
Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and God said to them, “Bear much fruit and increase, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Genesis 1:26-28.
Authority over the earth and fruitfulness. Adam lost it and Jesus regained it for YOU. Take your authority that I have given you in Jesus and never back down to the devil. That was Adam’s mistake, but I have given you the eternal memorial of the body and blood of My Son that you will never again return to slavery a second time, for whom the Son sets free is free indeed. And that is who you are—My children and My friends to whom I have made known what I am about so that you can be about it too.
And know that I am with you always. I will never leave you or forsake you. Stick with Me so that we can be together for eternity in that great and glorious Kingdom of Heaven and of Earth.
Always remember all that I have freely given you in Christ. He did it all for you. I am honored when you receive it ALL and rejoice in so great a salvation. And that is what our Eucharistic journey has been about. YOU. You have always been on My mind, since before time. I have loved you with an everlasting love and that is just what it means: forever. Will you walk with Me in love? That is where you will find joy unspeakable filled with glory.
I love you. It is time for you to go forward. I have fully equipped you in Christ. There is a time in everyone’s life that putting up with sin is a thing of the past, there is a time when you have to say, “enough is enough” and move on. It is time for you to live in the present, press toward the future, and to forget what lies behind that would hold you back from all I made you to be—amazing.