Easter is soon approaching and we will not be gathering as the Church. It breaks my heart when thinking the church family will not be gathering and celebrating together the risen Savior. In all my years of ministry, and all the assumptions I have made about the trials, and hardships I would face, isolation was never one of them. Loss of life, friction among the brethren, leaky roofs, spilled communion juice were all things I have considered and have met these past years—yet never did I expect social distancing, voluntary isolation, global pandemics, and national emergencies be issues I would face.
But as here I sit in my office—going on three weeks of little to no interaction with anyone other than my lovely wife—I think about how all my years of ministry and lessons learned have prepared me for this time of ministry. And not just my ministry, but a ministry God has given to all of us.
No matter what we face, the church has been given a mission to make known the mystery of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and his love for us.
At the end of Matthew’s gospel, we are reminded of perhaps the most encouraging words in all of Scripture for the believer. Do you remember the words spoken first by the angel in Matthew 1:23?
23“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). — Matthew 1:23 (ESV)
And at the end, Matthew reminds us again of those encouraging words,
“…And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” — Matthew 28:20 (ESV
The beginning of Matthew’s gospel was to speak to Jesus’ mission—that is to save his people from their sins— and the end of the gospel was to speak to ours. The mission of saving and a mission of pointing to the Savior.
Matthew’s gospel story is all about reminding the reader of what is spoken at the beginning and at the end—God is with us—Jesus is with us to the very end of the age. No matter what is going on in the world, our mission does not change and neither does God’s promise. We must continue to tell about the Savior just as God continues to be with us all along the way.
These past few weeks have been challenging for me and I know for many others in the church. But I want to encourage you—God is with you. If God is with us, there is certainly nothing we cannot do in his name. In times of drought, famine, war, and disease, the name of Christ still advances because God’s people firmly believe he is with us, to the very end of the age.
Soon we will look to the story of Palm Sunday and see how our Savior is in control. Then we will celebrate our risen Savior with new hope and fresh eyes. The God who raised Christ from the dead can surely save us from this pandemic. May God hear the cries of his people and bring relief to the nations.
24Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, 25to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen. —Jude 24–25 (ESV)
—Bro. Jesse