Matthew Chapter 28
Short chapter. Only 20 verses.
"Toward the dawn" after the Sabbath, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary come to see the tomb. This was very early, before sunup, but perhaps with light starting to show in the sky. They had enough light to find their way, but the sun was not up.
2021 - The "other Mary" is the mother of the apostle called "James the less", to distinguish him from John's brother. This "other Mary" is married to Clopas, a variant name of Alphaeus.
MSB has a long note on these women at Matt 27:56. Just so I will have it in here somewhere, it says this, paraphrased:
Mary Magdalene is mentioned also in Lk 8:2. The other Mary is called Mary the wife of Clopas in Jn 19:25, and was with Mary the mother of Jesus at the foot of the cross. Pretty clear that the wife of Clopas was at the foot of the cross in this account. We know she was the mother of James the less from Mk 15:40...which says she was looking from a distance. (My note, now MSBs: So...I think there are a lot of Mary's, and I think we ought to study this out because this is the kind of thing someone might bring up to say the NT can't even get right who was at Jesus crucifixion nor who exactly came to the tomb. How can they be cited as witnesses to the cross and the resurrection if we aren't even sure who they were? My guess is that there are a lot of theories about who was who. Also some indication that this was Mary's sister...but two Mary's in the same family? I wonder if the way the Greek is constructed untangles these identifications but English, and inserted commas that were never in the original text, make it very confusing. Mark also tells us that Salome was with them - both at the cross in Mark 15:40, and at the tomb in Mk 16:1, so MSB note includes her also.) Back to MSB, Salome was the mother of the sons of Zebedee - James and John.
(There is no reference for how we know she is their mother. I did a word search and only found her name twice in the NT, once at the cross, once at the tomb, but nothing about who her sons were. So where did that information come from? I did a word search on Zebedee, and one on "James and John" and nowhere did I find a connection to Salome. So...I don't know how MSB knows.)
2024 - I knew I remembered an earlier reference to this. Here are some verses:
56 among whom were Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph and the mother of the sons of Zebedee. [Mat 27:56 ESV]
40 There were also women looking on from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. [Mar 15:40 ESV]
So the way we know that Salome was the mother of James and John is from these two verses which all describe the same moment in time. They are together in the Harmony, and Lk 25:49 is also there, but is more generic and does not even specifically name the women.
This also tells us that in this verse: 20 Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, and kneeling before him she asked him for something. [Mat 20:20 ESV], It was Salome who made this bold request of Jesus. James was killed by one of the Herod's in Acts, so it is likely she was alive to grieve that son, but John would have outlived her surely.
Jn 15:26 says that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was also present at the cross. While the Bible doesn't say so, it is possible that this Mary the wife of Clopas was at the foot of the cross with Mary for a while, but could not bear to stay until the end. With all the cruelty, reviling, gambling for his clothes, passersby snarling at him while he was on the cross, and so on....any of these events could have been the last straw that made this other Mary walk away and join the other women who were further off. Maybe it was due to some action John took when Jesus said "Behold thy mother". Maybe John moved over, put his arm around Mary, and this induced the other Mary to go and join the other women. This makes some sense. This feels "real".
So that is 50 minutes on vs 1. Moving on...
There is an earthquake and an angel rolls back the stone, and then sits on the stone. The angel does this even with the guards right there. They see this angel and are afraid of him. They go into some sort of stupor, as if they are dead. As it reads, the angel then tells the women that Jesus is no longer there, and invites them to come and see where he used to be. Then the angel tells them to go and tell his disciples he is risen. They will see him in Galilee.
2022 - Here is the wording:
"2 And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it." [Mat 28:2 ESV]. As constructed in English, the earthquake seems to be a consequence of the actions of the angel. Surely a great earthquake is appropriate to mark the resurrection of the Savior of the world. This earthquake would have been felt by the residents of Jerusalem, rousing them from their beds and giving them something to talk about. Everyone in the city would remember that early morning shake. When the story of that morning, and of the resurrection was told later, the earthquake would have been a reminder to all of that specific day.
2021 - It is amazing the things that you can miss. The way this account reads, that stone was rolled back as the women approached. Those guards were still standing there guarding that tomb as the women approached. Then this earthquake happens, and is either used by the angel to make the stone move, or the earthquake accompanies the angel's rolling the stone away. That stone over the door of the tomb was still there. The seal was still there until these women arrived.
The angels message is that "He is not here..." We all know about that one. The angel instructs them to go tell the disciples he is risen. To tell the disciples he will go ahead of them to Galilee, and see them there. As they are on their way, Jesus himself meets these women. His first earthly appearance post-resurrection is to these women. Jesus repeats the instruction to tell the disciples he will see them in Galilee. Why then does he also see them in Jerusalem??? MSB note says that just because the message sent said you will see me in Galilee that did not preclude Jesus from seeing them before then. The references to each appearance are in the MSB note on vs 7. MSB says that Jesus "supreme" post-resurrection appearance, where more than 500 people saw him, was in Galilee. And that is why it was important to send this message.
2022 - Matthew tells us what the angel looked like. Note that the angel looked "male". He was unmistakable, appearing as lightning in bright white clothing. Fear of this supernatural being sent the guards into a stupor. They were so scared they couldn't function. But the women were not so frightened. The angel speaks to them directly, and tells them to come and look. Matthew does not tell us what they did next - whether they went and looked or asked more questions or just turned and ran for the city.
2022 - Note this phrase in verse 7: "...behold, he is going before you to Galilee." That "you" is a plural. These women are included with the disciples they were sent to inform. Jesus would go first to Galilee, and then the rest of "you", all of you, plural you. So it was not just the 12 who were to go to Galilee. It makes sense that Jesus' appearance in Galilee was to be a memorable event. Many disciples were going to see him there, including some who weren't quite sure it was really him. This doubting lends a bit of realism to the narration. Matthew could have written that all who saw him believed and were convinced of his resurrection, but doesn't having some doubters present make it seem more like a narration of actual events rather than a fictitious account? The angel should be seen as announcing the "public" appearance of Jesus, post-resurrection. There are also a number of more private, intimate appearances to smaller groups, and we get glimpses of these from various gospels. None lists them all.
2024 - Here is all of vs 7. There is a lot more here than I have noticed before...or at I haven't fitted things together before:
7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you." [Mat 28:7 ESV].
First, it never made sense to me that the message to the women was "go tell them I will meet them in Galilee". I always thought you had to look at this as "well, he did meet them in Galilee, but that doesn't mean he couldn't ALSO meet them 10 times BEFORE they got to Galilee. And that is still true...but it seems an odd message to send if that was the plan. Until you really look at what the angel says. I think the first key here is that he didn't say "tell his apostles" or "tell the twelve", but tell his disciples. His disciples were a much larger group, and none of Jesus appearances near the tomb or in Jerusalem included a group that we might generically call "his disciples". If you look at the appearances of Jesus before he went to Galilee, there are six. Besides the women at the tomb and his 11 apostles he also appeared to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. All these appearances are very limited in so far as "witnesses to his resurrection" are concerned. So the message that says tell his disciples he will see them in Galilee is about Jesus presenting himself to all his followers. Matt 28:17 tells us that some of those who showed up in Galilee to see him still doubted - so this Galilee appearance was not about convincing those closest to him, but about a LOT of witnesses. So now, I think of the angel's message as "tell everyone I'll see them, together, in Galilee, as I said before".
As I read the passages about this, Jesus told them this not in the upper room, where there were only Jesus and the 12 present, but afterwards, out at the Mount of Olives. He tells them they are all going to abandon him, but that he will see them in Galilee. We know from Mark 14:51 - or it is very much implied - that Mark was there in Gethsemane when the mob arrived. I Mark was there, it is possible that a number of other disciples were also there, and heard Jesus say he would meet them in Galilee. I have always wondered if Judas went by Mark's house first that night, to see if Jesus was there, and that's how Mark knew something was up. And it is certainly possible that in Gethsemane, it was only the 11 and Mark. But there is room for there to have been more.
I think Jesus phrasing in Matt 26:31, "you will ALL fall away", implies at least to some extent that there were more than 11 people there.
On their way to see the disciples, Jesus meets them and says "Rejoice", and they fall to the ground and hold onto his feet and worship him. Jesus also tells the women to tell his disciples he will meet them in Galilee.
2022 - No...in ESV Jesus wants the women to tell his "brothers" to go to Galilee. Surely we see from this that Jesus had more than 11 people in mind for this appearance. That large 500 plus crowd that would see him was important because it included so many people beyond just the 11, who might be expected to fabricate a story of his resurrection. I think it would be impossible for even 11 to maintain such a fabrication, but for 500 to do so? Even the doubters would testify to seeing someone who looked A LOT LIKE Jesus in person in Galilee.
The guards go and tell chief priests "all" that happened. They assemble the elders, consult, and pay a large sum of hush money to the guards. In exchange, the guards will lie and say the disciples stole Jesus' body in the night as they were sleeping. These priests and prominent citizens promise to keep the guards out of trouble.
2022 - Vs 11: "While they were going..." So Matthew wants us to know that "some" of the guards went to the city concurrently with the women going back to the city. It is interesting that some of the guards stayed at the tomb. It is possible the guards passed the women on the way back to town. How many roads could there be?
2022-The guards tell their story only to the chief priests. Once these have heard the report, they summon "the elders" and talk the whole thing over. This would have taken more than a little time. There were no cell phones. Messengers would have to be sent to the various elders, early in the morning while they are probably still at home, though some may have been at work already, and then the elders would have to get dressed and make their way to the meeting. Surely by the time the soldiers are paid off to keep silent, it was well up into the morning, if not nearly noon. During this time, the women would have reached the place where the 11/brothers/disciples were assembled and told their own story. Peter and John would have had plenty of time to run to the tomb and check for themselves before the elders paid off the guards.
2022 - This verse:
"15 So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jews to this day." [Mat 28:15 ESV]. What story? The story that the disciples came and stole the body, or the story that the elders paid off the guards to lie about the body? A Greek scholar might be able to tell which story is referenced here, but in English, we cannot tell.
Matthew skips over the Jerusalem appearances of Jesus, and moves straight to Galilee. He says the disciples go to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus told them to meet him.
2022 - NO! That is not what it says! How can I still be so inaccurate after reading this so many times!?!?!? What it says is that "the eleven" went to Galilee, to the mountain. They knew which mountain, because Jesus had identified it in advance. We don't know if this was something he'd told them before the crucifixion, or something he told them in one of his Jerusalem appearances. The point though, is that they set off for a very specific place in Galilee. A know destination. I think it is clearly implied that the 11 went as a group. If I were a disciple, and I'd been there when the women told their story and said the brothers were to come to Galilee, I think I'd have tagged on to the 11 when they headed for Galilee. So it may well have been the 11, and about 500 more people, who made their way to this mountain. I previously though that only the 11 were on that mountain, but that doesn't seem like a "necessary" interpretation. The 11 went, so did lots of others. They may all have know which mountain Jesus had in mind, and it may be that the 11 were in their own group, and that there were a lot of other groups. They could have arrived at different times, even on different days, but at some point, Jesus does appear to them all, on that mountain. That how I read it now. I think you must read it that way because of that last phrase in vs 17 - "some doubted". In the Jerusalem appearances, the 11 were all convinced beyond a doubt - even Thomas. So the doubters were not of the 11.
Jesus' appearance cooking fish for breakfast is not mentioned in Matthew. The apostles see him there at the mountain, and worship him, but some still doubt. Matthew does not tells us who these were. Still doubting at the mountain appearance, even though all but Thomas believed in Jerusalem, and then Thomas himself believed? Perhaps it was some of the 500 that still didn't believe. Plus, the way it reads, it was the 11 only that saw him on that mountain.
Matthew records the great commission, but gives us no details about where it was spoken or anything else.
2022 - Yeah, it was on the mountain. There's no reason at all to put it any place else.
2022 - This verse:
"18 And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me." [Mat 28:18 ESV]. Had Jesus ever said anything like this before? I don't believe so...and I think this means that it was only after his resurrection that the Father passed all this authority on to Jesus. When this happened, I believe that the "Kingdom of God"/"Kingdom of heaven" was initiated. I think at this time - today, in the church age - the kingdom is spiritual in nature. But at the second coming, Jesus will establish his physical earthly kingdom, and he will rule over it with an iron rod as an earthly king. So as I read the next three gospels, I will look at the "kingdom of heaven" as a reference to the church age, from resurrection to second advent...or at least from resurrection to rapture. That is probably more accurate.
So in Matthew, Jesus' only appears to the two Marys while in Jerusalem. He gives us no details of what went on during the trip to Galilee, or about what happened when they saw Jesus. He seems almost deliberately discrete about it all. Why would this be so? MSB says that just because he said he'd see them in Galilee didn't mean he wouldn't see them before that.
MSB says the note on Luke 24:34 lists all Jesus' appearances after the resurrection.
Some doubted...but there may have been a lot more than just the 11 there to see him in Galilee. MSB note says 1 Co 15:6 says that over 500 saw him in Galilee.
Still...Matthew's account of the post-resurrection time seems very succinct. Matthew was, I think, in Jerusalem the rest of his life. I think I'm right about that. He wold be writing only to the Jews local to Jerusalem. He would be writing before 70 AD. So the Jews in Jerusalem would already know about Jesus' appearances there. They likely had talked to most, if not all of the apostles and found out about those appearances. They didn't need to be told the details of those appearances, so Matthew only included the one appearance in Galilee. And we aren't really all that sure about when this was, because it does not seem to be the ascension. Matthew says nothing of that...again, was it because the Jews in Jerusalem were very familiar with that already?
I have been hanging my hat on this assumption. Just went and did some reading. Very little is known about Matthew after the gospels. We have no real idea how he died or where. This paragraph, from https://christianity.stackexchange.com/questions/78115/how-did-the-apostle-matthew-die is a good synopsis of all the items I read:
Of Matthew's subsequent career we have only inaccurate or legendary data. St. Irenæus tells us that Matthew preached the Gospel among the Hebrews, St. Clement of Alexandria claiming that he did this for fifteen years, and Eusebius maintains that, before going into other countries, he gave them his Gospel in the mother tongue. Ancient writers are not as one as to the countries evangelized by Matthew, but almost all mention Ethiopia to the south of the Caspian Sea (not Ethiopia in Africa), and some Persia and the kingdom of the Parthians, Macedonia, and Syria.
I do like that Irenaeus and St. Clement both keep him in Jerusalem, at least long enough to have written his gospel. If this is right, then all my conclusions work out. So I will say that my speculation about where he was, and the influence his location had on what he chose to record, is at least very plausible.
2021-Have spent very much time on Matthew. Reading right through Mark, and will start with Mark next year...