Viii. The Resurrection, 28:1–20
VIII. THE RESURRECTION, 28:1–20
Each of the Evangelists has his own way of treating the resurrection of Jesus; thus there are some not inconsiderable differences between the accounts in our four Gospels. But with all their differences there are some things common to them all. One of these is that each tells of something completely unexpected. It is clear that, despite the teaching of Jesus, his followers had no expectation that he would rise from the dead. The resurrection came as a wonderful surprise. The accounts in our four Gospels are notoriously difficult to reconcile,1 but this underlines the truth that they are independent and that there is no attempt to reproduce some official party line. Each of the Evangelists tells the story as best he knows without trying to harmonize it with what somebody else says. But with all the differences Diétrich points out that “Three elements, nevertheless, are common to all four Gospels—the empty tomb, the announcement of the Resurrection to the women, and the meeting of the disciples with the Risen One.” In addition to these three features Matthew’s account includes stories of the women seeing an angel and later meeting Jesus, of what happened to the guard the Jewish leaders had posted, and a very important account of the great commission Jesus gave to his followers to take the gospel throughout the entire world. He ends his Gospel on the note of world evangelism in obedience to the last commandment of Jesus Christ.2
A. The Women at the Tomb, 28:1–10
1But after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. 2And look, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and went and rolled away the stone and sat on it. 3And his appearance was as lightning, and his clothing white as snow. 4And from fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. 5And the angel answered the women, saying, “Don’t you be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6He is not here, for he has been raised, as he said; come, see the place where he lay. 7And go quickly and tell his disciples that he has been raised from the dead; and look, he is going ahead of you into Galilee. You will see him there; look, I have told you.”
8And they went away from the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9And look, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings.” And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him. 10Then Jesus says to them, “Don’t be afraid; go, tell my brothers to go into Galilee, and there they will see me.”
When he comes to the resurrection narrative Matthew begins with the effect the appearance of an angel had on the guard. Like the other Evangelists, he indicates that Jesus’ first appearance was to some women. But unlike them he says that the angel who came and rolled the stone from the tomb told these ladies to tell the disciples that they should go into Galilee and that Jesus would meet them there, an instruction that Jesus himself repeated when he met them as they went to tell the disciples what they had seen.
1. Matthew’s But has adversative force as he sets the holy women over against the guards the Jews had set over the tomb. He moves to the time after3 the Sabbath. He is not speaking of the time immediately after the Sabbath, for that would commence at sunset; he is going on to early morning, as it began to dawn; the women would not have been able to do much at the tomb during the hours of darkness, and in any case there would have been no sense of urgency once the body of Jesus had been placed in the tomb. Matthew says that Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to the tomb, but the only indication as to their reason was that they came to see it. Mark tells us that when the Sabbath was over they bought spices, and both Mark and Luke say that they brought their spices to the tomb, evidently to complete the burial that had been done in haste on the Friday. Presumably Matthew omits the reference to the spices because he knows (as the women probably did not) that there was a guard at the tomb that would have prevented them from using their spices anyway; the whole reference to spices was for him irrelevant. John informs us that Nicodemus had used a large quantity of spices at the burial, but even so the women would have wanted to bring their tribute (just as in our day no matter how many wreaths there may be at a funeral we still want to make our own contribution). Matthew concentrates on the fact of the resurrection and simply says that the women came to see the tomb. It is enough for his purpose that they were there.
2. Matthew’s characteristic And look (see on 1:20) introduces a note of vividness;4 he wants his readers to see the scene at the tomb. He says that there was a great earthquake (for “earthquakes” in Palestine see the note on 27:51; only Matthew has this reference). For introduces a reason for this one: an angel of the Lord came down from heaven.5 It is not easy to be clear on just what happened when the women came to the tomb. Matthew has one angel, Mark speaks of a young man sitting on the right-hand side (Stendahl thinks that he is the angel in Matthew, for “angels had no wings in the 1st cent.”), Luke has two men in dazzling clothes, while John refers to two angels in white. It seems clear that all these are references to angels; the small differences should not disconcert us unduly. Each of the Evangelists is saying in his own way that when the women came to the tomb they encountered an angelic visitation.6 It is not surprising that they speak of what happened in slightly different ways, for different people may well have had different perceptions.7 The important thing is that there were unusual angelic visitations and what the angels said concerned Jesus’ rising from the dead. The angel of whom Matthew writes went and rolled away the stone from the tomb. It appears that he made contact with the earth at some place other than the tomb and that from there he went to the place where Jesus had been buried. That he rolled away the stone, of course, was not in order that the risen Jesus might get out, but that the women might get into the tomb. Matthew implies that Jesus had already risen; the rolling away of the stone was to let the women see that the body was no longer there. They had been there on the Friday and seen Jesus buried, and unless the stone was rolled away they would surely think that his body was still there, inside the tomb. Mark tells us that as they came to the place they discussed the problem of rolling the stone away, as well they might, for it was a great stone (27:60). But when they arrived, they found their problem solved; the angel had done it for them, and having rolled the stone away he sat on it. What had been an insuperable obstacle for the women was no more than a place to sit for the angel.
3. Matthew inserts a little comment about the way the angel looked. He speaks of his appearance8 and compares it to lightning. This undoubtedly signifies that it was impressive, but it is not easy to understand exactly what it means. Perhaps we can say that the angel was “striking” to look at. His clothing9 was white as snow; this description has become conventional for that which is very white, but it is used of clothes only here in the New Testament (and only once of anything else, with reference to hair, Rev. 1:14). We are left with the impression of an august personage.
4. And the angel certainly made that impression on the guards.10 They were supposed to keep the tomb safe from disciples who might try to steal the body, and they may well have been prepared to repel any such attempt. But an angel coming from heaven and rolling back the huge stone was another proposition altogether. They had never seen such a being, and not surprisingly they trembled11 at the sight. Matthew is not saying that they were slightly disturbed, but is speaking of an experience that overwhelmed them with fear; they were caught up in a terror that paralyzed them. That they became like dead men points to the paralysis that overtook them when they were face to face with an angel. They had probably been prepared to face human opposition of some sort; why else would they have been assigned their task? But a striking heavenly visitant who manipulated the great stone with ease and whose appearance was like nothing they had ever seen was something else altogether.
5. But the angel’s business was not with those irrelevant guards. He ignored them and addressed the women. Matthew says that he answered them. They are not recorded as having said anything he might answer, but he responded to their situation. They had come to do something about burying a dead body and there was no dead body; there were guards, armed men, though they were trembling and afraid. The angel answered the women’s unexpressed fears with “Don’t you be afraid.” Fear in the presence of a denizen of another world is natural enough,12 but the angel had come to help the women, not to terrify them, so he begins by calming their fears. He goes on to encourage them by assuring them that he knows all about their mission: “you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.”13
6. “He is not here” tells them that their search is a vain one; no more should they look in a tomb for Jesus. “He has been raised,” where the passive points to the truth that the Father raised his Son. The angel goes on, “as he said,” which should remind them of the predictions that Jesus had made and that apparently none of his followers had taken as they were meant. But the predictions were important, and the angel draws their attention to them. They were not facing a situation in which Jesus had undergone a totally unexpected fate and had then experienced an unanticipated deliverance. He had prophesied both his death and his resurrection, and it was important that his followers should come to understand that the wonderful happening that had just taken place was in fact no more than what Jesus had prophesied during his lifetime. The angel backs up his statement that Jesus had been raised by inviting them to come and to see the place where he lay. This might not perhaps give an infallible proof of what the angel had said, but at least it would make clear that there was no point in concentrating their attention on the tomb. They could see for themselves that Jesus was not there; then perhaps they would take to heart what the mighty angel had told them.
7. From reassuring the ladies the angel turns to commissioning them to do something. “Go quickly,” he says; the good news is not something to be hugged to oneself. They are to be the messengers to the disciples, which, while it refers to all who follow Jesus, in this place signifies particularly the eleven. We might have expected that the good news would be given first to Peter or John or some other member of the eleven. But God’s ways are not our ways, and the message was given first to a couple of women, people who did not rate highly in first-century estimation. This was not the only place in which the Christian message cut across the accepted idea of the time, specifically in connection with the way women were viewed. These two ladies then were told that they should tell the disciples two things: first, that Jesus “has been raised from the dead” and, second, that “he is going ahead of you into Galilee,” a meeting that he had prophesied before his death (26:32). This does not mean that he is even now on his way to Galilee, but is a prophecy that he is going to be in Galilee before them. This is the second time the angel has said that Jesus has been raised; it is important for the women to be clear on this. And it is of interest that he tells them to assure the disciples that he is going ahead of them into Galilee (the use of the present tense for a future event makes it more vivid and certain). In Luke and John there are appearances of Jesus in and around Jerusalem, but of course John also has the story of the miraculous catch of fish, and that took place in Galilee. Matthew puts more emphasis on Galilee than does any of the other Evangelists. The disciples would have to walk to Galilee, so there was no problem about Jesus being there before them. The angel completes his message with “look, I have told you.” He had done all he could for them. The rest was up to them.14
8. The women made haste to do what they were told. They went away from the tomb quickly; the place of death no longer had any meaning for them. That they went with fear indicates that they were in the grip of the awe that had been aroused in them by their contact with the visitant from another world. But they were not simply scared; they went with great joy. They had come to that place mourning the death of their great leader and dear friend; they went away knowing that he was dead no longer. Well might their emotion be great joy. They had been told to go quickly and tell the disciples, and they took the injunction literally. They ran to tell his disciples. Such good news should be spread abroad quickly, so they certainly made haste. His disciples is a general term and is broad enough to cover all those who had given him their allegiance. While the news of the resurrection would in due time be conveyed to all his followers, in this place it appears that the term is used especially of the eleven. They were closest to Jesus, and it was important that they learn at the soonest possible moment that their Master had conquered death. For some reason that is not disclosed to us the news was first given to the women and the first appearances of Jesus were to women. But the disciples were not to be overlooked, and these ladies were commissioned to bring them the good news. We should not overlook the fact that in Matthew the only appearance of the risen Jesus in Jerusalem was to the women, while from there he goes on to speak of appearances in despised Galilee. Both point to a rejection of accepted values. “Galilee of the Gentiles” (4:20), of course, fits in with the emphasis on the Gentiles that was to intensify from the time of the resurrection on.
9. The women had had the great blessing of contact with an angel and of being charged with an angelic message to the disciples. But there was something even greater in store for them, for as they went Jesus met them (only Matthew has this information; John has a story of an appearance to Mary Magdalene at the tomb, but only Matthew tells us of an appearance to the women as they went on their way to obey the angel’s command). They had been last at the cross and first at the tomb, and now they are the first of whom Matthew writes that they had the joy of seeing their Lord. From what the angel had told them they would have expected that no one would see Jesus until the appointment in Galilee. But now as they went on their way to do as the angel said, look (the word makes it vivid), there was Jesus before them. Matthew says little about the manner of the meeting, simply that Jesus met them. It is not easy to convey the force of his greeting in English. I have tried with “Greetings,” but this is not a usual way of greeting someone we meet, though it was quite a normal thing to say in the first century. The Basic English translation renders it literally, “Be glad”; GNB reads “Peace be with you,” which was a normal Jewish greeting and may convey something of the meaning. But it was not what Matthew wrote. However, we should not engage in a lengthy discussion of this word as though it were important. The women clearly were not concerned with such matters. They were simply filled with joy at seeing Jesus himself, so they came to him. Evidently when they sighted him on the way, there was still a little distance between them. So they came right where he was. They took hold of his feet, an act of homage. Carr cites a clay cylinder of Cyrus in which that great king says of subject kings, “they brought me their full tribute and kissed my feet.” In thus taking hold of his feet the women symbolically recognized Jesus’ kingship; indeed, it may indicate that they had come to realize that he was more than mortal. However much or little they had understood who he was before, the fact that he was now risen from the dead made it clear to them that he was more than any mere man. So they prostrated themselves before him and held his feet. In including this detail Matthew makes it clear that Jesus’ risen body was a real body—the Evangelist is not describing a vision. Matthew also says that they worshiped him.15 This means that they now regarded him as divine.
10. Then (see on 2:7) here means “next in sequence.” Jesus apparently was not going to spend a lot of time with them at this point. He accepted their worship and then proceeded to reassure them and to repeat the angel’s command. “Don’t be afraid” is a word of reassurance in the exciting but highly unusual situation in which the ladies found themselves. They had been told by the angel that Jesus was alive, and now they had had this confirmed by seeing and hearing him for themselves. They could recognize something of what all this meant and gladly accept it. But it was still something outside human ken; it is a natural thing to be at least a little frightened of the supernatural. Jesus addressed himself to this natural feeling and told them not to be afraid.
Just as the angel had done, he told them to take the good news to his followers. Here he calls them “my brothers.” It is just possible that he is referring to his human brothers, but this is not likely. He had spoken of those who gave their allegiance to him as his family (12:50; 25:40), and it seems that it is this kind of thinking which underlies these words. Jesus is asking the women to go to the disciples and tell them to go into Galilee. Most of Jesus’ ministry had been exercised in Galilee; thus it was natural that he would expect his followers to go there and that he would be ready to meet them there. So he says, “there they will see me.” Neither the angel nor Jesus said where he would meet them in Galilee, and Galilee covered quite an area. But Jesus had spent most of his life there and most of his public ministry. Those who had followed him would know the places he was accustomed to frequent. At any rate neither the women nor the disciples seem to have raised any query about this.
B. The Soldiers Silenced, 28:11–15
11While they were on their way, look, some of the guard came into the city and told the chief priests all that had happened. 12And when they had met with the elders and had worked out a plan, they gave a considerable sum of money to the soldiers 13and said, “Say that his disciples came by night and stole him while we were sleeping.” 14And if this should come to the governor’s ears, we will persuade him and free you from anxiety. 15And they took the money and did as they were told. And this report has been spread abroad among Jews until this day.
Matthew turns from the joy of the followers of Jesus to the problem facing the Jewish authorities and the guard. That the guard should say exactly what they knew about what had happened was unthinkable, so the authorities had to concoct a story that would limit the damage as they saw it. Matthew proceeds to outline this piece of skulduggery. This part of the story is, of course, in Matthew only; the others do not tell us anything about the guard.
11. While they were on their way indicates that the women were already on the path of obedience, and it transfers attention from the prompt action of the followers of Jesus to the prompt action of his enemies. Matthew has his characteristic look (see on 1:20) as he introduces this second group into the action. Some of the guard (what happened to the others? Matthew says nothing about them) came into the city and sought out the chief priests. They might have been expected to go to their own officers, but Pilate had placed the guard at the disposal of the Jewish authorities (27:65) and accordingly it was to them that they reported. In any case, they may well have hesitated to go to their own officers because they would have to confess that they had not prevented the removal of the body from the tomb. It is true that the body had not been stolen, but it might have been difficult to convey the truth of what had happened to sceptical Roman officers. Perhaps it was better to postpone facing certain military punishment as long as possible and to try any other course that seemed open. In any case, the Jewish authorities had been the ones who had understood the necessity of the guard, and some of the guard accordingly thought that the first approach should be made to the chief priests. Perhaps the reason that only some of them came was that the others did not consider it proper to approach the Jewish authorities. For whatever reason, this was the action they took. They told the chief priests all that had happened. It would be interesting to know what is comprised in Matthew’s all. We know that they saw the rolling of the stone away from the entrance to the tomb and that this had the effect of making them “like dead men” (vv. 2–4). But did they see Jesus? Were they aware that the one who had been buried in that tomb was now alive? We cannot be sure of this. But it is clear that they had seen enough to know that something most unusual had happened and that after the angel had left them there was no body in the tomb. And that certainly was matter enough for a serious and disturbing report to be brought to the Jewish authorities.
12. The chief priests regarded this as a matter that they should not handle on their own. So they met16 with the elders and discussed the situation. They came up with a plan17 that involved bribing the guard. Matthew says that they gave a considerable sum of money to the soldiers, and this must indeed have been the case. The guards had been through a harrowing experience that must have left a deep impression on them, but they were to keep quiet about all this. More. They were to say that they had slept on the job, a dereliction of duty that Roman officers would take with the utmost seriousness. A “substantial bribe” (REB) was going to be needed to persuade them to do as the chief priests wanted.
13. The story they were to put out was simple. They had to say that they slept while on duty and that Jesus’ disciples came by night and stole him.18 It is ironical that the Jewish authorities themselves were now causing the story to be put out that they had caused the guard to be set in order to prevent. They had feared that the body might be stolen and resurrection stories circulate on the basis of an empty tomb. They were now ensuring that precisely those stories were circulated, the only difference being that behind the stories was a risen body instead of a stolen body. The Jesus whom they had caused to be slain and put into the tomb was now a living reality; all their bribes and lies could do nothing to alter the facts.
14. The guards must have taken some persuading to say that they had slept on the job. That was a serious offense and could bring down on them the heaviest of penalties. Moreover, they were to say that their slumbers had enabled the followers of Jesus to steal his body, though if they were asleep when the nefarious deed was done it is not easy to understand how they would know what had happened.19 The guards were thus placing themselves in a hazardous position by putting out the story the chief priests had concocted. But they were also in a hazardous position if they did not do this. There was no denying that they had been put on guard to prevent the theft of a body. There was no denying that the body had been in the tomb when the stone was sealed. There was no denying that the body was no longer there. So on any showing they had failed as guards. They could, of course, have told of the coming of the angel and of what he had done. But who would believe them? Angels are not often seen by mortals, and this could well sound like a story concocted to cover up their failure. So they ran a risk. But they may well have thought that if they did as the chief priests suggested, at least they would have some people in high place who had an interest in making sure that their story was accepted.20 If they refused, they were on their own. There is also the fact that Pilate was no willing partner in the execution of Jesus. The posting of the guard was not his idea, and he might not have been particularly distressed if he heard that the Jewish authorities had been discomfited in the end. Further, the chief priests said that if their tale came to the governor’s ears21 they themselves would ensure that the guards came to no harm. It appears that the Jewish authorities felt that there was a good chance that Pilate would not hear of this at all. After all, his residence was at Caesarea, and he would be going there soon after the conclusion of the feast. The probability was that the guards would not be accused of any dereliction of duty, and there was no reason for the governor to know anything about what had happened. The soldiers of the guard would be without any anxiety22 over the matter. The priests were telling the soldiers that a cover-up was both possible and necessary. There is a contrast between the emphatic we and you: “We will persuade him, and you will be without a care!”
15. The soldiers were grateful to take the money and be safe from any military charge. They took the money and did as they were told. For both the Jewish authorities and the soldiers this must have seemed a good solution to a very awkward situation. Both were involved in a lie and both were involved in bribery (the one giving, the other receiving). But the soldiers realized that they could be free from unpleasant disciplinary action, and the chief priests that they had a story that might account for the facts. Of course, had the resurrected Jesus made appearances among the people, the story could not be believed; but if he did not, they were in a good position. At least it cannot have been easy for them to think of a better solution. And, Matthew tells his readers, this report has been spread abroad23 among Jews (there is no article; it is not “the” Jews)24 until this day (cf. Rieu, “this story has been current in Jewish circles ever since”). And not only to the time of writing of this Gospel, for as we saw earlier, Justin speaks of it as still being repeated by the Jews in the middle of the second century (see on 27:66). That neither the Jews nor anybody else could produce the body of Jesus is of the utmost importance. Could this have been done, the story of the resurrection would have been exploded in a gale of laughter. But despite all their precautions, including the setting of a guard of soldiers, no body was ever produced. The empty tomb has always been important for Christians.
C. The Great Commission, 28:16–20
16But the eleven disciples went into Galilee, to the mountain that Jesus had appointed them. 17And when they saw him, they worshipped, but some hesitated. 18And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20teaching them to observe all the things I have commanded you; and look, I am with you all the days to the end of the age.”
In his concluding paragraph (which is peculiar to this Evangelist) Matthew tells of Jesus’ meeting his disciples in Galilee and of the charge he gave them to make disciples of all the nations and to baptize them in the name of the Trinity. Many scholars have raised doubts over parts of this section, particularly over the use of the Trinitarian formula for baptism. But the arguments are all subjective: there is nothing else with which to compare the passage, and textually it is well attested. And it is very important. As Johnson puts it, “No part of the Bible, with the possible exception of the letter to the Romans, has done more to give Christians the vision of a world-wide church. It has sent them to all nations, bearing the message of salvation through Christ, with which are linked the responsibility and privilege of obeying his words.” We must bear in mind that the picture of Jesus as a Jewish rabbi, with a little group of disciples around him, traveling in leisurely fashion in rural Galilee contrasts sharply with the missionary-minded church that we find in the early chapters of Acts. From the beginning the church exercised a missionary function and sought to make disciples out of those who listened to its proclamation. Why this sudden and dramatic change? Surely it is the fact of the resurrection of Jesus, coupled with the charge the risen Lord gave to his followers to make disciples of all nations.
16. The adversative But sets the disciples over against the Jews and the intrigues about the guard over the tomb. This is a different kind of story. “The Twelve” have now become the eleven disciples, and we find that, in obedience to the command passed on through the women mentioned earlier in this chapter, they went into Galilee. In the other Gospels the appearances are mostly in Judea, but Matthew has nothing to say about appearances in that region, apart from the brief appearance of Jesus to the two Marys. But this Evangelist has depicted the greater part of Jesus’ ministry as being in Galilee, perhaps to indicate that the task the risen Christ assigns to his followers is continuous with the ministry he exercised when he was here on earth. Matthew goes on to say that the eleven went to the mountain that Jesus had appointed25 them. We have no way of identifying this mountain, but the disciples were familiar with Galilee and we need not doubt that there was no problem for them with appearing at a mountain that is unknown to us.
17. When the women saw the risen Jesus they worshipped him (v. 9), and now the eleven disciples did the same. Jesus told the women that the disciples would see him in Galilee (v. 10), and now we read that they did see him. Worship was the natural response to the realization that the Jesus who had meant so much to them throughout his earthly ministry was stronger than death and was alive again. Matthew goes on to say, but some hesitated, the meaning of which is not immediately obvious. Many translations have “some doubted,” and this may indeed be the meaning, but “hesitated” seems more likely (so JB).26 It can scarcely mean that the hesitators were included among the worshipers; Matthew is saying that there were those who worshiped and there were those who hesitated. But why did they hesitate? Perhaps they were not sure that the person they were seeing was the one who was crucified. Perhaps they were not sure that Jesus really was risen; they may have wondered whether they were seeing a vision, not a real person. Perhaps they were not sure that it really was Jesus who was before them (cf. LB, “some of them weren’t sure it really was Jesus!”). We must bear in mind that they were not alone in having difficulty in recognizing Jesus. The two who walked with him to Emmaus did not know who he was (Luke 24:16; cf. vv. 37, 41), and the disciples in the boat did not recognize the risen Jesus on the shore (John 21:4). But in any case we may ask, Who has perfect faith? We should bear in mind that even one of the eleven, Thomas, not only doubted but roundly denied the resurrection when told about it by the ten (John 20:24–25). It is surely not surprising that when the whole body of the followers of Jesus knew that he had been crucified, that he had died, and that he had been buried in a sepulchre, some should have difficulty with the thought that now he was alive again.
This raises another question. It is difficult to think that the hesitation was coming from the eleven, considering all that had happened to them during the recent past. It may well be that others than the eleven were present, perhaps even the group of more than 500 of whom Paul writes (1 Cor. 15:6). This would give more scope for people who believed and people who doubted than if the group had been limited to the eleven who had been closest to Jesus. France argues strongly that only the eleven were present, but it is not easy to see how the hesitators could have been some of the eleven after the dramatic removal of Thomas’s doubts (John 20:24–29).
18. Jesus was evidently at a little distance from the group, for he came. But perhaps this means that he took up a position from which he could easily address the whole group.27 First he made clear that in his risen state he was in a situation very different from that when he had been the penniless preacher and healer they knew so well. “All authority28 has been given to me,” he said, which points to an end to the time when he was “a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief … stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted” (Isa. 53:3–4, KJV). Now he has received the fullest possible authority, for it is authority in heaven and on earth. He is making clear that the limitations that applied throughout the incarnation no longer apply to him. He has supreme authority throughout the universe.
19. We might have expected that this would lead on to his disclosure of some of the ways in which that authority would be exercised, but instead Jesus goes on to its implications for those who follow him. Therefore leads on to the fact that this has consequences for those who follow him here on earth. Because he is who he is29 and because he has the full authority he has, they are commissioned to “go”30 (which forms a contrast with “do not go,” which had earlier been his direction with respect to the Gentiles, 10:5) and “make disciples.”31 In this Gospel a disciple is both a learner and a follower; a disciple takes Jesus as his teacher and learns from him, and a disciple also follows Jesus.32 The life of a disciple is different because of his attachment to Jesus. The Master is not giving a command that will merely secure nominal adherence to a group, but one that will secure wholehearted commitment to a person. In the first century a disciple did not enroll with such-and-such a school, but with such-and-such a teacher. Jesus’ disciples are people for whom a life has been given in ransom (20:28) and who are committed to the service of the Master, who not only took time to teach his disciples but who died for them and rose again. Those who are disciples of such a leader are committed people. And, of course, this is the kind of disciple that he looks for his followers to make. They are to make disciples of all the nations, which points to a worldwide scope for their mission. It took the church a little time to realize the significance of this, and in the early chapters of Acts we find the believers concentrating on proclaiming their message to the Jews. But there seems never to have been any question of admitting Gentiles, the only problem being on what conditions.33
Jesus goes on to speak of baptizing these new disciples “in34 the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”35 This expression has caused endless controversy among exegetes. There are two separate problems, the institution of baptism as a rite of initiation for disciples, and the use of the Trinitarian formula. On the former question it is pointed out that Jesus did not habitually engage in baptism as John the Baptist, for example, did. Throughout his ministry he did not call on his followers to baptize those who wished to become adherents. From this it is argued that baptism was a rite established by the church, and the command to continue it is viewed as having been read back onto the lips of Jesus. But against this is the fact that baptism was part of church life from the very first. On the Day of Pentecost Peter preached to the crowd in Jerusalem, and when they asked, “What shall we do, brother men?” he responded without consultation and without hesitation, “Repent and be baptized” (Acts 2:37–38). We have no knowledge of a time when the church was without baptism or unsure of baptism. It is difficult to explain this apart from a definite command of Jesus.
The words referring to the Trinity are another matter, but we must bear in mind that the faith mentioned in verse 18 “naturally issues in the concept of the Trinity” (Johnson).36 We must bear in mind as well that in the early church there are references to baptizing in the name of Jesus (e.g., Acts 8:16; 19:5). Bonnard notices this difficulty, but immediately adds, “one cannot doubt that the Trinitarian formula was already there in germ in Paul” (p. 416; similarly Allen remarks, “the conception Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is clearly as ancient as the Christian Society itself”). Such passages, however, may not give the formula used in baptizing, but be a short way of differentiating Christian baptism from the other baptisms in the ancient world. For that matter the words about the Trinity are not necessarily meant to be used as a formula,37 though in the history of the church they have often been so used and they form a fitting part of baptismal services.38 That the early followers of Jesus thought of God as triune seems clear from the passages that speak of the three together (e.g., Rom. 8:11; 1 Cor. 12:4–6; 2 Cor. 13:14; Gal. 4:6; Eph. 4:4–6; 2 Thess. 2:13, etc.). That God is a Trinity is a scriptural idea.39 Jesus spoke a good deal about the Father, but not so much about the Holy Spirit, and he did not link himself with the two in a way comparable to the formula we have here. This being so, it is perhaps not surprising that many modern scholars assert that Matthew is here reading the custom of his church back onto the lips of Jesus. But there is no objective criterion to decide the point. If we hold that Matthew gives a reliable picture of the life and teaching of Jesus, we will say that the formula that has come to mean so much to the Christian church goes back to Jesus himself and to those days when he had risen from the dead and was giving direction to his followers for the times ahead when they would have to manage the affairs of the church without his visible presence. If we think that Matthew is reflecting the life of the later church in which he lived, then here as elsewhere we will think that he has made use of ecclesiastical formularies.40 We should notice that the word name is singular; Jesus does not say that his followers should baptize in the “names” of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, but in the “name” of these three. It points to the fact that they are in some sense one.
The mention of the Spirit is viewed by some critics as nonhistorical, but we should not overlook the fact that there is some reference to the Spirit in both the Lukan and the Johannine resurrection accounts. Luke tells us that the risen Jesus spoke of sending “the promise of my Father on you” (Luke 24:49), a promise that was fulfilled with the coming of the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, while John records the risen Jesus as saying, “Receive the Holy Spirit” (John 20:22). There is nothing improbable in Matthew’s recording words referring to the Holy Spirit in this context. We should remember also that the Spirit is mentioned in connection with Jesus’ own baptism; indeed, we have a Trinitarian passage there (3:16–17).41
20. Baptism is not the be-all and end-all; it is no more than the beginning. The new disciple is to be baptized, but he or she is also to be taught42 “to observe all the things I have commanded you.” The church’s teaching function is thus of great importance. We teach because Jesus commanded us to teach, and there is no way of diminishing the importance of an activity that owes its origin to the command of our Lord himself. But Jesus is not speaking about education for education’s sake. He speaks of the taught as “observing” what Jesus has commanded. In other words, Jesus is concerned with a way of life. As we have seen throughout this Gospel, he continually urges his followers to live in a manner pleasing to God. He has objected to the sterile legalism of many in his day and has gone beyond the letter of the law to the things that are rightly seen as arising from its spirit. So there is to be instruction and there is to be purity of life. We should not miss the significance of all the things. Jesus is not suggesting that his followers should make a selection from his teachings as it pleases them and neglect the rest. Since the teaching of Jesus is a unified whole, disciples are to observe all that this means.
The final promise is introduced by Matthew’s characteristic “and look” (see on 1:20); NIV translates with “and surely,” which conveys some of the reassurance the term implies here. The Gospel ends with Jesus’ breathtaking promise that he is with his followers all the days43 to the end of the age.44 He does not say “I will be with you,” but “I am with you,” and his I is emphatic, “no less than I.” Bruce sees this expression as “conveying the feeling of certainty, but also spoken from the eternal point of view, sub specie aeternitatis, for which distinctions of here and there, now and then, do not exist.” In other words, the disciple is not going to be left to serve God as well as he can in the light of what he has learned from the things Jesus has commanded. The disciple will find that he has a great companion as he goes on his way through life. This tells us something about Jesus. The Jesus of whom Matthew writes is no small Palestinian figure, but a mighty Person who is with his followers wherever they may be. And this, he says, will last through time. He is not speaking of a temporary residence with first-century disciples, but of a presence among his followers to the very end of time. This Gospel opened with the assurance that in the coming of Jesus God was with his people (1:23), and it closes with the promise that the very presence of Jesus Christ will never be lacking to his faithful follower. This does not, of course, mean that Jesus has not been with his people hitherto; he has made it clear that where two or three are met in his name he is there, right in the middle of them (18:20). But when Matthew draws his Gospel to its close, he has nothing in the way of an ascension account. He emphasizes the importance of his continuing presence and concludes his Gospel with the magnificent assurance to the followers of Jesus that that presence will never be withdrawn; he will be with them always, to the end of the world and to the end of time.