To The End of the Age
Text: Matthew 28:16–20 and 1 Corinthians 15:50–58 ESV
Join us this Sunday, August 9, as we continue our series on The Great Commission. Don Straka will be looking at Jesus’ words, “I’ll be with you always, to the end of the age.” We hope you can join us!
Order of Service
Opening Worship
(3:30 PM live, at home/watch parties prior to service)
Sermon Video
If you would like a compiled playlist of the worship set, you can view it here.
To the End of the Age
Introduction
Through July and August, we are looking at Matthew 28:16–20 each week as well as another text to unpack the rich truths in this final statement from Jesus. Today, we are going to take a closer look at the phrase: “Behold, I’m with you always, to the end of the age.”
Now, the main emphasis of this verse seems to fall on Jesus being with us, but I don’t want us to gloss over the phrase “to the end of the age.” How often do you think about the fact that this age will come to an end? I don’t know how often you think about the end of the world or the fact that you’re going to die one day. I actually think we should probably be thinking about it fairly often. The Bible certainly does not shy away from talking about it.
In fact, this knowledge of the end of the world actually acts as a motivation to fulfill things like the Great Commission and all parts of the Christian life. We will begin by looking at Matthew 28 again and then I’ll introduce the second text, 1 Corinthians 15:58, before we enter into our first discussion.
Let me begin by rereading Matthew 28:16–20:
“Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”” (Matthew 28:16–20 ESV)
Now we call this text the Great Commission because these were Jesus’s final words to his disciples, and the words are commissioning them to go out and make disciples. Well, after a quick read of this commission, we discover that it is impossible to do on our own.
In light of that challenge, we arrive at these refreshing last words—
“Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20 ESV)
At those words, we all take a big sigh of relief because we know we will have the exact help we need. That help isn’t a force, but a person—the living Christ—who promises to be with us.
Jesus then reinforces this promise by telling his disciples that his presence will always be with them. The phrase he uses—“to the end of the age.” No matter what comes, Jesus will be there. Through people refusing to accept him, through prison, and even through death, not one moment will pass without Jesus being there. He assures them that his presence will be there throughout all time—all the way until the end of the age.
But, I think this phrase “to the end of the age” does a bit of double duty in this passage. First, is what I just mentioned, it comforts the disciples that Jesus will never leave them—not even when the end of the world comes. But I also think it reminds the disciples that the end of the age is coming. I think it helps remind them that making disciples is important because the end is coming.
I say this because Jesus didn’t have to add that phrase “end of the age.” But Jesus doesn’t waste words. I think he was wanting to recall for them things like what he said in Matthew 24:
“And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” (Matthew 24:14 ESV)
Jesus wants them to know that he will always be with them, but he always wants them to remember that the end is coming. And this end should motivate how they live today.
Introduction to 1 Corinthians 15:58
That leads us to our second text today. We are going to look at Paul unpack this truth in 1 Corinthians. We are going to be looking at 1 Corinthians 15:58. You can go ahead and turn to chapter 15, and I’ll try to set up the context for that verse.
Now, in this chapter, Paul has been talking about the importance of the bodily resurrection of Jesus. He notes that if this didn’t happen, we should all be counted as fools. But it did happen. And because Jesus rose from the dead, we can have confidence that our lives lived for him are not wasted. In fact, we will live with him face-to-face one day. That brings him to this paragraph right before our verse. It begins in verse 50.
In verses 50–53, he notes how we are not only going to die (at least if Christ doesn’t come back before), but we will be raised from the dead. And not only that, we will be given new bodies on that day—immortal bodies.
Now, needless to say this is a pretty incredible feat. I mean, we are talking about a body that never dies. And that brings us to verses 54–56 where Paul notes that when we rise from the dead and get these immortal bodies they will be like this victory flag waved in the face of death. This day will be the day that death meets its death. Death will have been shown to lose it’s power because Jesus has conquered it. He is so confident of this death day for death that he quotes this sort of mocking song:
“Death is swallowed up in victory.
O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”
(1 Corinthians 15:55 ESV)
He notes that death has lost its sting, and he goes on to say that sting was sin and the punishment that it brought. The Bible is clear in passages like Romans 6:23 that the wages of sin is death. So how is it possible that death has lost its sting? Well, Jesus, by his work on the cross, renders the effects of sin useless in those who trust in him. Look at verse 57:
“But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 15:57)
This victory over death comes because Jesus defeated sin. Here is what happens. Everyone deserved death and separation from God because of their sin. But Jesus takes the sins of those who trust in him. Jesus takes the punishment they deserve for their sin, and they get the righteous reward Jesus had for living a sinless life. In effect, death is no longer their inheritance. Instead, they have eternal life as their reward. They will rise from the dead, just like Jesus, and they will live with Christ forever.
Okay, now that is the background to get us to our main verse—verse 58.
“Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” (1 Corinthians 15:58 ESV)
What’s Coming Tomorrow
In a phrase, today we will be focusing on how the future with Christ changes how we live today. In the words of Matthew 28, the fact that there is an end of the age, sets our priorities today. In the words of our second text, your promised death and resurrection sets your priorities today.
In short, how we live today is governed by what is coming tomorrow. We are going to see this spelled out in three points, all connected to the future of our promised death and resurrection.
-
The logic of remembering your death and resurrection.
-
The fruit of remembering your death and resurrection.
-
The payoff on the day of your death and resurrection.
The Logic of Remembering Your Death and Resurrection
Now, let’s begin by looking at the really important first word in this verse—therefore—for our first point, the logic of your death and resurrection. Paul uses the word therefore to connect back to the previous verses.
Here is our verse again:
“Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” (1 Corinthians 15:58 ESV)
Now, any time you see the word therefore in the Bible, you should immediately ask, “what is the therefore there for?” It should be automatic. Anytime you read therefore, you immediately think: “what is the therefore there for? Like when someone says thank you, you don’t even think about it, you say, “you’re welcome.” “Thank you.” “You’re Welcome.” “Therefore.” “What is it there for?”
Almost always the author is using that word to connect back to what he just said. Here is an example of what I mean. When someone says, “We are out of milk, therefore can you go to the store?” The reason or motivation for you going to the store is that you are out of milk. And the word therefore is what made that connection for you.
Now in our text, Paul has just finished arguing how, for Christians, you must know though you will die one day, you will also rise from the dead. Paul is saying something like, “Hey, Christian, you are one day going to be resurrected and living with Jesus. Death has no power over you because Jesus has conquered death. Therefore, live your life fully abandoned to him. Live in light of this coming reality.”
Call it the funeral effect. Here is what I mean. Have you ever gone to the funeral of someone close to you, and when you get home, of course, you are sad, but you also find that you have a new sense of clarity on the priorities in your life? All of a sudden, you decide you want to really wake up on time so you can meet the Lord in the morning before you leave the house. Or you feel like you want to play fewer video games and do more serving your neighbor. Whatever it may be.
Don’t panic. I’m not saying video games are bad. I’m trying to say that remembering the end is coming changes how we live today. And when you combine that with the truth from Matthew 28 that Jesus is with us through all of that, all of a sudden you have all the motivation you need to go out and do the impossible.
Here’s how Paul says this similar idea in Romans 8:
“If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.” (Romans 8:11–12 ESV)
The keywords are so then. Paul is saying that because Christ will give life to your mortal bodies, that is, you will rise from the dead, then you ought to not live for the flesh, but for God.
I heard a book try to capture this idea with the title, Driven by Eternity. I haven’t read it for a long time. But I think it is a helpful title. The point is that this future reality of our death and resurrection should inform how we should live. We should be driven by eternity in the sense that we look at the future reality that we will die and live with Christ, and then we should look backward from that reality and let that set our priorities for today.
‘Driven by Eternity’ means that you live today not in light of all the things that you want in this earthly life, but in light of all that you want in the life to come. This radically changes how you live. You end up not chasing the American Dream but instead the dream of the Great Commission. You end up living driven by eternity not driven by the world in front of you.
The Fruit of Remembering Your Death and Resurrection
That was point one: the logic of remembering your death and resurrection. Now to point two, the fruit of remembering your death and resurrection. Paul moves now to highlight very specifically what remembering your death and resurrection will produce. It can produce many good and godly things, but Paul highlights three here.
Here is the verse again:
“Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” (1 Corinthians 15:58)
He calls believers to three things:
-
Be steadfast
-
Be Immovable
-
Be always abounding in the work of the Lord
Being steadfast and immovable feel very similar to me. Working for the Lord will not be easy. Over and over you will come up against hardship. You will be tempted to compromise, change, give up, give in, stop, become lazy, get distracted. A hundred darts are to fly at you in every moment, and you need to be a stalwart.
Ephesians uses words like not being tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine. Here is a picture: Imagine the difference between a beach ball and a firmly planted palm tree. When a gust of wind picks up, what happens to the beach ball? It follows that wind wherever it blows. But that firmly planted palm tree? It sways, it gets a bit bruised, but it doesn’t move. That is what Paul is calling believers to.
And lest we get confused, these phrases be steadfast and immovable, don’t mean that Christians should just sit on the couch and do nothing because they are trying “not to move.” No! In fact, it is the opposite.
They are supposed to be “abounding in the work of the Lord.” In Matthew 28, that work is summarized in the Great Commission. But the work of the Lord is anything that we are engaging in for the glory of God. No matter what we are doing, we are called to be immovable in proclaiming the gospel. We are to be steadfast in our call to make disciples and grow closer to the Lord.
The Payoff on the Day of Your Death and Resurrection
Now to point three, the payoff on the day of your death and resurrection. This leads Paul to his final statement, “knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”
One more time, here is the verse:
“Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” (1 Corinthians 15:58 ESV)
The logic again is that death is not our reward on the last day, therefore our labor is not in vain. We will be seeing Christ face-to-face, which means all the work we do here, no matter what reward we get for it, we will receive it on the last day. Here is how the Gospel of Luke puts it:
“But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.” (Luke 14:13–14 ESV)
Because we have a great reward coming, we can serve the Lord in all that we do no matter what comes. Now think back to our Matthew passage. Christ has promised to be with us through the end of the age. No matter what comes—persecution or even death—Christ is with us. And he is with us to the end of the age, and he promises that the end of the age is coming. Well, this Corinthians passage only makes that clearer. Knowing the end is coming gives us the motivation to live a certain way today.
Let me give it to you in a picture. It’s another way to think about living ‘Driven by Eternity’. Having a finish line—“end of the age”—helps. Picture a dog running wildly in circles the minute he gets off his lease. He runs and runs and runs. He flies through the water, jumps around on the sand, grabs a ball and shakes it wildly. But after 30 minutes he tires out and lies down. He has just run out of steam.
Compare that to the Olympic runner who through the third turn in the mile picks up his pace because he knows the end is coming. Having the finish line in mind gives fuel for the tired runner. The end is coming, and it is worth spending every amount of energy to get there.
I would love for you to look at the passage in 1 Corinthians and discuss how it can shape your day-to-day life. How does it change the way you do laundry, show up to the office, talk to your neighbor, etc?
I wrote these couple of things down while I was preparing. I’ve been struggling to get out of bed on time lately. I don’t know if it is because I go to bed later in the summer or what, but it doesn’t really matter. When I read this passage, I find all the motivation I need to get out of bed and get into the word in the morning. I want to press into the Lord this month to do that better.
Or I thought about how I need to pursue difficult conversations even when I don’t want to. No need to run away thinking it doesn’t matter. The work I do for the Lord is not done in vain.
Well, I want to end by just reminding you that I know this may be a hard season. You may be feeling temptations that you have never felt before. But the call is to remain steadfast. But the strength to do that will not come via your own strength. Here is the words again from verse 57:
“But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 15:57)
Your victory in your fight of faith right now will come through Christ. Press into him in this season by remembering that you will be living face-to-face with him soon. Death is not your reward. God’s full presence is your reward if you are in him.