Matthew 28
28
The Resurrection of Jesus. 1#Mk 16:1–8; Lk 24:1–12; Jn 20:1–10. After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning,#After the sabbath…dawning: since the sabbath ended at sunset, this could mean in the early evening, for dawning can refer to the appearance of the evening star; cf. Lk 23:54. However, it is probable that Matthew means the morning dawn of the day after the sabbath, as in the similar though slightly different text of Mark, “when the sun had risen” (Mk 16:2). Mary Magdalene and the other Mary: see notes on Mt 27:55–56; 57–61. To see the tomb: cf. Mk 16:1–2 where the purpose of the women’s visit is to anoint Jesus’ body. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. 2#Peculiar to Matthew. A great earthquake: see note on Mt 27:51–53. Descended from heaven: this trait is peculiar to Matthew, although his interpretation of the “young man” of his Marcan source (Mk 16:5) as an angel is probably true to Mark’s intention; cf. Lk 24:23 where the “two men” of Mt 24:4 are said to be “angels.” Rolled back the stone…upon it: not to allow the risen Jesus to leave the tomb but to make evident that the tomb is empty (see Mt 24:6). Unlike the apocryphal Gospel of Peter (9:35—11:44), the New Testament does not describe the resurrection of Jesus, nor is there anyone who sees it. His appearance was like lightning…snow: see note on Mt 17:2. #25:51. And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, approached, rolled back the stone, and sat upon it. 3#17:2. His appearance was like lightning and his clothing was white as snow. 4The guards were shaken with fear of him and became like dead men. 5Then the angel said to the women in reply, “Do not be afraid! I know that you are seeking Jesus the crucified. 6#Cf. Mk 16:6–7. Just as he said: a Matthean addition referring to Jesus’ predictions of his resurrection, e.g., Mt 16:21; 17:23; 20:19. Tell his disciples: like the angel of the Lord of the infancy narrative, the angel interprets a fact and gives a commandment about what is to be done; cf. Mt 1:20–21. Matthew omits Mark’s “and Peter” (Mk 16:7); considering his interest in Peter, this omission is curious. Perhaps the reason is that the Marcan text may allude to a first appearance of Jesus to Peter alone (cf. 1 Cor 15:5; Lk 24:34) which Matthew has already incorporated into his account of Peter’s confession at Caesarea Philippi; see note on Mt 16:16. He is going…Galilee: like Mk 16:7, a reference to Jesus’ prediction at the Last Supper (Mt 26:32; Mk 14:28). Matthew changes Mark’s “as he told you” to a declaration of the angel. He is not here, for he has been raised just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7#26:32. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him.’ Behold, I have told you.” 8Then they went away quickly from the tomb, fearful yet overjoyed, and ran to announce#Contrast Mk 16:8 where the women in their fear “said nothing to anyone.” this to his disciples. 9#Although these verses are peculiar to Matthew, there are similarities between them and John’s account of the appearance of Jesus to Mary Magdalene (Jn 20:17). In both there is a touching of Jesus’ body, and a command of Jesus to bear a message to his disciples, designated as his brothers. Matthew may have drawn upon a tradition that appears in a different form in John. Jesus’ words to the women are mainly a repetition of those of the angel (Mt 28:5a, 7b). #Jn 20:17. And behold, Jesus met them on their way and greeted them. They approached, embraced his feet, and did him homage. 10Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”
The Report of the Guard.#This account indicates that the dispute between Christians and Jews about the empty tomb was not whether the tomb was empty but why. 11While they were going, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had happened. 12They assembled with the elders and took counsel; then they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, 13telling them, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him while we were asleep.’ 14And if this gets to the ears of the governor, we will satisfy [him] and keep you out of trouble.” 15The soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has circulated among the Jews to the present [day].
The Commissioning of the Disciples.#This climactic scene has been called a “proleptic parousia,” for it gives a foretaste of the final glorious coming of the Son of Man (Mt 26:64). Then his triumph will be manifest to all; now it is revealed only to the disciples, who are commissioned to announce it to all nations and bring them to belief in Jesus and obedience to his commandments. 16#Mk 16:14–16; Lk 24:36–49; Jn 20:19–23. The eleven#The eleven: the number recalls the tragic defection of Judas Iscariot. To the mountain…ordered them: since the message to the disciples was simply that they were to go to Galilee (Mt 28:10), some think that the mountain comes from a tradition of the message known to Matthew and alluded to here. For the significance of the mountain, see note on Mt 17:1. disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them. 17#But they doubted: the Greek can also be translated, “but some doubted.” The verb occurs elsewhere in the New Testament only in Mt 14:31 where it is associated with Peter’s being of “little faith.” For the meaning of that designation, see note on Mt 6:30. When they saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted. 18#All power…me: the Greek word here translated power is the same as that found in the LXX translation of Dn 7:13–14 where one “like a son of man” is given power and an everlasting kingdom by God. The risen Jesus here claims universal power, i.e., in heaven and on earth. #Dn 7:14 LXX. Then Jesus approached and said to them, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19#Acts 1:8. Go, therefore,#Therefore: since universal power belongs to the risen Jesus (Mt 28:18), he gives the eleven a mission that is universal. They are to make disciples of all nations. While all nations is understood by some scholars as referring only to all Gentiles, it is probable that it included the Jews as well. Baptizing them: baptism is the means of entrance into the community of the risen one, the Church. In the name of the Father…holy Spirit: this is perhaps the clearest expression in the New Testament of trinitarian belief. It may have been the baptismal formula of Matthew’s church, but primarily it designates the effect of baptism, the union of the one baptized with the Father, Son, and holy Spirit. and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, 20#1:23; 13:39; 24:3. teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.#All that I have commanded you: the moral teaching found in this gospel, preeminently that of the Sermon on the Mount (Mt 5–7). The commandments of Jesus are the standard of Christian conduct, not the Mosaic law as such, even though some of the Mosaic commandments have now been invested with the authority of Jesus. Behold, I am with you always: the promise of Jesus’ real though invisible presence echoes the name Emmanuel given to him in the infancy narrative; see note on Mt 1:23. End of the age: see notes on Mt 13:39 and Mt 24:3. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”
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Matthew 28
28
Jesus came alive again
1On Sunday morning, Mary Magdalene, and another woman that was called Mary, they got up really early and went to look at the cave that had Jesus’s body in it. 2Suddenly there was a big earthquake. One of God’s angel messengers came down from heaven, and he rolled the big stone away from the cave, and he sat on top of it. 3His face was bright and shiny, like lightning. His clothes were really white, like snow. 4The soldiers that were guarding the cave were really frightened. They fell down on the ground like dead men, and they couldn’t move.
5Then the angel said to the women, “Don’t be frightened. I know that you are looking for Jesus, the man they killed on a cross. 6But he is not here. God made him alive again. Remember, Jesus told you that this was going to happen. Come over here and see the place where he was lying. 7Now you have to go quickly to his followers. Tell them, ‘Jesus is alive again, and he is going to Galilee country ahead of you mob. You have to go and see him there.’ So go quickly now, and tell them.”
8Then the women ran quickly away from that cave. They were really frightened, but they were really happy too. They got up to run to Jesus’s other followers, to tell them the angel’s message. 9But Jesus met them half-way and called out, “Hello.” They went up to Jesus and showed him strong respect. They even got down and held on to his feet. 10Then Jesus said, “Don’t be frightened. Go and tell my other followers to go back to Galilee country, and they will see me there.”
The guards told the Jewish leaders what happened
11While the women were going away, some of the soldier guards went into the city and told the bosses of the Jewish ceremonies everything that happened at the cave. 12Then the ceremony bosses called a meeting with the Jewish elders. They all agreed to give the soldiers a lot of money to get them to tell a lie. 13They told the soldiers, “You have to tell everyone, ‘Jesus’s followers came in the night, while we were asleep, and they stole his body.’ 14If anyone tells the boss, Pilate, about this, then we’ll talk to him and tell him that you didn’t do anything wrong, so he will not give you any trouble.” 15The soldiers took the money, and they told everyone that lie, like the leaders told them to say. So a lot of Jewish people heard that story, and some of them still tell that lie to other people.
Jesus’s followers have to tell everyone in the world about him
16The women told Jesus’s message to his 11 special workers. Then those men remembered that Jesus told them to meet him on a mountain in Galilee, so they went there.#Matthew 26:32; Mark 14:28 17They saw Jesus there, and they felt really happy, and they showed him strong respect. But some of them were thinking, “Is this really Jesus? I don’t know.”
18Then Jesus said to them, “God, my father, has made me boss over everything now. I’m boss over everything up in heaven. And I’m boss over everything down here on the earth. 19So go out to all the people in the world, and tell them about me. Teach those people to follow my way, and baptise them with water to show that they belong to the father, and the son, and the Holy Spirit. 20You have to teach them to do everything that I told you to do. And remember this, I will be with you all the time. I will be with you to help you, right up until the time when this world will finish.”
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