Matthew

Chapter 28

”After the Sabbath” – This is an important beginning to this final chapter of St. Matthew’s narrative. Sabbath means rest. They removed Jesus’ body from the cross that afternoon with some degree of haste because it was the Sabbath and they needed to rest. Jesus found his Sabbath rest after the great ordeal of his crucifixion, and even God found rest from the work that he set out in the Jesus Christ. All of the “ducks were in a row” for the great event that was about to take place. God was about to begin a “new age” that he initiated in the coming of the Messiah. The day that Jesus walked out of the tomb was the day that a “new day” had dawned for all humanity as well as all creation. In recognition of the events that took place on that Sunday the early church even referred to Sunday as the eighth Day in recognition that God had begun something entirely new. The promise of renewal and regeneration had taken place as Jesus rose from the death both immortal now and invincible.

Once again, all of the eschatological signs were present. A great earthquake signaled the “end” which in all truthful terms is the beginning. We have angels descending from heaven with appearance as lightening and clothing white as snow. The dead Jesus arose. Both the angels and Jesus himself gave the message to the women and the disciples, “Do not be afraid.” Matthew records the event of Jesus meeting up with the women. He records that “they took hold of his feet, and worshipped him.” This record is Matthew’s clear indication that the risen Jesus was no spirit. His physical presence stood before these women. There was flesh to hold. A living being stood before their eyes. God had truly accomplished the new age that had been promised from of old.

Two Perspectives Prevail

Even in the face of all that happened there were still two perspectives.

There were those who believed. The women, the disciples, and all those to whom Jesus appeared believed because of the great event that took place.
The religious establishment still sought to discredit Jesus and the events of the day. First, they sought to have the tomb guarded against potential grave robbers who might seek to steal the body and claim the resurrection had taken place; then now that Jesus had arisen, they tried to bribe the guards into saying that his body was stolen by the disciples. Matthew records that some believed the deception.

The disciples believed, however

On the Mountain

Once again, Jesus meets the disciples on the mountain. There they saw him and worshipped. Here was one more theophany, one more revelation of the true nature of Jesus – God in human flesh.

Mountains have always played a significant part in the story of the self-revelation of God. God appeared on Mt. Sinai in the burning bush to Moses and again on Mt. Sinai to give the law. Abraham had the revelation of God’s grace when he went with Isaac to Mt. Mariah to sacrifice his son and God stopped him. In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount from on top of a mountain. The Temple of God in Jerusalem was build on top of Mt. Zion, formerly known as Mt. Mariah. Jesus was transfigured before his disciples on a mountaintop, and now his final address to his disciples is to be on a mountain.

Once again, Matthew is careful to announce that many believed but some doubted.

Jesus’ Parting Words

Though Matthew does not account for the ascension into heaven as Luke does, one is left with impression that these are Jesus’ parting words to his disciples. Afterwards, Jesus’ physical presence was not long there. His words consist of two things:

Commission – “God therefore 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 that I have commanded you.” Disciples are given the command to make more disciples. There are to be no boundaries, no distinctions based upon where people are from, whether from Jewish territory or from gentile country. God and baptize. Make them my disciples.
Promise – Jesus assures his disciples that they will never be alone in the commission that they have been given. Though his physical presence is gone, nonetheless, Jesus finds ways to understand that Jesus is with them in all of the aspects of their lives. The church understood the coming of the Holy Spirit as the presence of Christ just as they understood the presence of the Eucharistic presence of Christ’s body and blood as the fulfillment of this promise to be with us to the close of the present of age, the age of mortality and imperfection.

A new age began in the death and resurrection of Jesus in which sinful and imperfect people were forgiven and brought close to God. It is a difficult age because those who live in it are caught between two worlds. We live as mortals yet find ourselves transported into a life that is eternal through the death and resurrection of Jesus. It is a life that begs us to live as though we holy in the face of our unholiness. Our task in the midst of this imperfect world is be disciples making other disciples and telling the world of God’s involvement in the life and history of the people of the world.

Wednesday, February 14, 2007