Christ's Resurrection and Great Commission

Continuing a Bible study of the Gospels:

(Matthew 28:1) In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the sepulchre. 

At the end of the last chapter, Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of James and Joseph, had witnessed the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and His burial in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathaea.  They came back to see the sepulchre at dawn "in the end of the sabbath."  The Jews numbered their days from sunset to sunset, so this must be the Roman calculation of time to be early in the morning.  However, according to the Jewish counting of days, Jesus would have then been in the tomb three days, or parts of three days, the evening of the first, the following day, and at this time, the first part of the third day.

(2) And behold, there was a great earthquake, for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it.

There was a great earthquake at that time as the angel of the Lord descended from heaven and rolled back the stone from the entrance of Jesus's tomb.  The angel then sat on the stone as the women came.

(3) His countenance was like lightning and his clothing as white as snow, (4) And for fear of him, the keepers did shake and became as dead.

The appearance of the angel was as lightning radiating from him, and his clothing was pure white.  The guards at the tomb were so frightened at the sight that they trembled with fear and may have even fainted, as they "became as dead."

(5) And the angel answered and said to the women, "Fear not, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified."

The angel who had been such a terror to the guards spoke reassuringly to the women, and told them not to be afraid; he knew they came seeking Jesus in the tomb.

(6) "He is not here, for He has risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay."

The angel told the women, after saying he knew they had come to see Jesus, that Jesus was not there.  He had risen just as He had said He would.  The angel then encouraged the women to go inside the tomb and see where Jesus had lain.

(7) "And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and behold, He goes before you into Galilee; there you shall see Him; lo, I have told you."

The angel then told the women to go quickly and tell Jesus's disciples that He had risen from the dead.  Not only that, but He was going before them into Galilee and He would meet them there, as He had promised in Matthew 26:32.  The angel added a confirmation that he, the angel of the Lord, told them this.  They could depend on it as truth.

(8) And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word.

The women departed quickly from the sepulchre as the angel had told them.  They had fear because of the awesome miraculous sight they had seen, but they had great joy because of what it all meant.  They ran to bring His disciples the news.

(9) And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, "All hail!" And they came and held Him by the feet and worshipped Him.

As the women ran to tell the disciples the news, Jesus met them and greeted them verbally.  They apparently recognized Him right away and fell on His feet and worshipped Him.  Once again, isn't it amazing that Jesus made His first appearance after His resurrection to women, and not His disciples?  The women had shown more love and devotion by staying by the cross while Jesus was crucified, then being across from the tomb witnessing Jesus's burial, and now at this time, coming back to see Him in His tomb.  They were rewarded for their faith and devotion by being the first to know Jesus had risen!

(10) Then Jesus said to them, "Don't be afraid; go tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me."

The women were surely afraid as they saw this divine Being risen from the dead, and realizing His deity and their unworthiness to be in His presence.  He spoke to them as the same Jesus He had always been to them, and told them not to be afraid, but to go tell His disciples to go to Galilee, and He would meet them there.  It was just as the angel had told them.

(11) Now when they were going, behold, some of the watch came into the city and reported to the chief priests all the things that were done.

While the women were on their way to tell the disciples the news and to give them the message from Jesus, some of the guards who had been guarding the tomb of Jesus went into the city to tell the chief priests what had happened.

(12) And when they were assembled with the elders and had consulted together, they gave large money to the soldiers, (13) Saying, "You say, 'His disciples came by night and stole Him away while we slept.'"

The chief priests then assembled together with the elders to discuss what should be done.  They decided to give the soldiers hush money, telling them to say that Jesus's disciples had come in the night and stolen Jesus's body away while the guards slept.

(14) "And if this comes to the governor's ears, we will persuade him and secure you."

They promised the soldiers that if the news reached Pontius Pilate, they would persuade him that it was true and they would protect them from any guilt or punishment.

(15) So they took the money and did as they were instructed, and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.

The soldiers agreed to the terms and took the money and did as the chief priests and elders had instructed them to do.  At the time that Matthew was writing, he reported that some of the Jews still reported that that was the way it happened.

(16) Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to a mountain where Jesus had appointed them.

All eleven disciples, one less because of the dead betrayer Judas Iscariot, went to Galilee and to a mountain to which Jesus had instructed they go.  This was not the first time they would see Jesus after His resurrection.  The account in John tells us He saw them later in the same day He had greeted the women.  At some point, Jesus had directed them to meet at a particular mountain.

(17) And when they saw Him, they worshipped Him; but some doubted.

When the disciples saw Jesus, they worshipped Him.  I don't believe any doubted at this point.  Matthew, the tax collector, the numbers guy, in his manner of brevity and just the facts, added that some had doubted.  Doubting Thomas had surely doubted (John 20:24-25), and the disciples didn't believe the women's "idle tales" (Luke 24:11) when they had told them Jesus had risen.  But after so many appearances that will be revealed in the other gospel accounts, we can be sure they all believed now as they all agreed to meet Jesus and they worshipped Him.

(18) And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All power is given to Me in heaven and on earth."

Of course, as God, the Word from the beginning with God, He had always had all power, but as Jesus in the human form before them, He asserted He as mediator between God and man had been given all authority in heaven and on earth.

(19) "Go therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost."

With the power given to Him on earth, Jesus commissioned His disciples to go forth into the world, teaching all nations.  The primary definition of the original word "matheteuo" that was translated as "teach" was actually "to disciple."  Not only were they to teach the nations about the wonderful news of Jesus, but they were to baptize them and make them disciples of Jesus and His Gospel.

(20) "Teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world." Amen.

Jesus further directed His disciples to teach the nations all things that He had taught and commanded them.  He promised He would be with them always, and that would mean in the form of the Holy Spirit, always, even to the end of the world.  The disciples wouldn't live to see the end of the world, so that promise was extended to us Christians now and throughout the ages; we can always depend on the Holy Spirit being with us.  Some Biblical scholars have suggested that the word "aion" rather than "world" meant "age;" perhaps because of the similarity to our word "eon."  They believe Jesus and the Holy Spirit would just be there for a particular age as needed.  For those of us who have witnessed the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives, there can be no doubt Jesus is with us always!  In astronomy an eon is a billion years!  Considering Jesus gave this commission not quite 2000 years ago, I think we can assume a billion years will be enough time to have Him with us on earth. 

The word "Amen" is not in the oldest manuscripts.  The meaning of "amen" is "firm" or "so be it."  Jesus would have no need to ask that a thing be made true; it was true when He spoke it.  Neither would Matthew have to pray that it be so, especially since we know the word "Amen" was not found in the earliest manuscripts.  It was undoubtedly added by a later transcriber, who probably meant it more emphatically, "So it is."  Additionally, it meant the end of the Gospel according to Matthew.  Other such subscriptions added to the end of the book of Matthew include some varying details about the writing of the Gospel, but most generally tend to say, "The end of the copy of the Gospel of Matthew the Apostle. He wrote it in the land of Palestine, by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, in the Hebrew tongue, eight years after the bodily ascension of Jesus the Messiah into heaven."

Jesus's Death and Burial

Continuing a Bible study of the gospels:

(Matthew 27:33) And when they had come to a place called Golgotha, that is to say, a place of a skull,

In the last post, Jesus had begun His journey to His crucifixion site, with Simon, a man of Cyrene, carrying His cross.  They came to a place called Golgotha, which literally meant "skull."  It is believed that it was a place of unburied skulls and bones of criminals.  

(34) They gave Him vinegar to drink mingled with gall; and when He had tasted it, He would not drink.

They gave Jesus a sour wine mixed with something bitter, and He tasted it, but then would not drink it.  By tasting it, it seems He would have drunk it if it was good to ease thirst.  The account in Mark said they offered Him wine mingled with myrrh, which would have been bitter, too.  The significance of that is that wine mixed with myrrh was given to prisoners to intoxicate them to make them less sensible to pain.  Jesus apparently refused anything to dull His senses and thus the pain, preferring to drink the "cup" His Father gave Him.

(35) And they crucified Him, and parted His garments, casting lots, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, "They parted My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots."

The Roman soldiers then crucified Christ, meaning they went through the actions of nailing Him to the cross and lifting it up and fixing it into the earth.  They had stripped Him of His garments before nailing Him to the cross, and then cast lots, sort of like throwing dice, to divide His clothing among them.  This fulfilled a prophecy of David in Psalms 22:18, "They part My garments among them, and cast lots for My clothing."

(36) And sitting down, they watched Him there.

The soldiers then sat down and watched Jesus on the cross, probably making sure no one attempted to take Him down.

(37) And set over His head His accusation written, "THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS."

The soldiers set above His head a sign that labeled His crime, as was customary, "THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS."  Matthew made it known that this was the accusation against Him, not that He was guilty of that crime.

(38) Then there were two thieves crucified with Him, one on the right hand, and the other on the left.

The Roman soldiers also crucified two thieves, placing one on His right side, and one on His left.  Dr. John Gill, in his Exposition of the Bible, wrote that according to one of their canons, this was not done, "They do not judge two in one day," unless they were partners in the same crime and suffered the same death.  However, this was done to fulfill prophecy in Isaiah 53:12, "...He was numbered with the transgressors..."  This could have been done by Pilate and the soldiers to take the emphasis off Jesus, and the fact Pilate may have condemned an innocent man.  It could have been He was placed between two thieves for appearance's sake, to make Jesus look like a ringleader of malefactors.

(39) And they who passed by reviled Him, wagging their heads.

Those who passed by the cross spoke abusively about Jesus and shook their heads in contempt.

(40) And saying, "You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself.  If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross."

The passersby ridiculed Jesus saying that if He could destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, then He could certainly save Himself and come down from that cross.  Jesus never actually said that He could destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days; He was talking about His body.  Additionally, He was the Son of God and could have saved Himself, but it was not in God's plan to do so.

(41) Likewise also the chief priests, mocking with the scribes and elders, said, (42) "He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him."

The chief priests, scribes, and elders, also mocked Jesus, saying He had saved others, but He couldn't even save Himself!  They actually said that if He was truly the King of Israel, then He should come down off that cross, and then they would believe Him!  As if they had not seen miracles enough!  They didn't want to believe Him; He was a threat to them, and they wanted Him gone.  Even if He had, they would have said it was by Satan that He did it, as they had accused before.  Besides, once again, it was not in God's plan for Him to do so.

(43) "He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him, for He said, 'I am the Son of God.'"

They continued mocking, saying if He was truly the Son of God, then let God deliver Him, if He would have Him.  Such utter disdain for the One who was allowing all these things to save the likes of them, if they would have Him!

(44) The thieves also who were crucified with Him reviled Him in the same way.

The thieves on the crosses with Him also reviled Him in the same way, at least in the beginning, they might both have; but the account in Luke states that one of the thieves, probably after witnessing Jesus's patient suffering, reproved the other thief and repented.  It could also be that in Mattew's usual form of brevity, he used what is called a synecdoche, a figure of speech in which a part is used for a whole; at least one of the thieves did revile Him, and Matthew just lumped both thieves together to say they also reviled Him.

(45) Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land to the ninth hour.

As the Jews began counting their day at sunrise, the sixth to the ninth hour would have been from noon to 3:00 in the afternoon.  This could not have been a natural eclipse, for it was the time of the full moon, and it continued for three straight hours.  Whether this was a sign of God's abhorrence of the wickedness taking place, or a symbol of the whole darkness of the world descending upon Christ, you would think it would have those who mocked Jesus falling on their faces before Him.  The event was recorded by even Pagan historians.  Phlegon, a Roman astronomer, said, "...the greatest eclipse of the sun that was ever known happened then, for the day was so turned into night that the stars appeared."  Dr. John Gill wrote, "It is asserted by Suidas, that Dionysius the Areopagite, then an Heathen, saw it in Egypt; and said, 'Either the, divine being suffers, or suffers with him that suffers, or the frame of the world is dissolving.'"

(46) And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" That is, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"

About 3:00 in the afternoon, after three hours of darkness, Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"  We know that God did not completely forsake or abandon Christ, but He did for a time leave the human temple of Jesus who had taken upon Himself the whole sin of the world; He was made a curse (Galatians 3:13); He was made to be sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21); He was for a time a cursed thing, sin that the holy God could not bear in His presence.  The cry of Jesus was prophesied by David in Psalm 22:1, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?..."

(47) Some of them who stood there, when they heard that, said, "This Man calls for Elijah!"

It may be that some truly misunderstood Jesus's words, and thought He was calling for Elijah.  The people long expected Elijah to be a forerunner of their anticipated Messiah.  Malachi 4:5 prophesied that, and in Matthew 17:12, Jesus said that Elijah had already come in the form of John the Baptist.  It could also be that some purposely twisted the words of Jesus as a taunt to say that He was calling for Elijah because neither He Himself nor God could help Him.

(48) And immediately one of them ran, took a sponge and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave it to Him to drink.

This seems to be the action of someone who was not deriding Jesus, but actually sought to help Him.  This vinegar was a sour wine and the usual drink of the Roman soldiers.  The account in John states that Jesus Himself had said He was thirsty and someone gave Him the wine which He received.

(49) The rest said, "Let Him be; let us see whether Elijah will come to save Him."

It appears the rest of them standing before Christ would deny Him a drink in order to deride Him further, pretending to see if Elijah would indeed come and save Him.

(50) Jesus, when He had cried out again with a loud voice, yielded up His spirit.

Jesus cried out again in a loud voice, demonstrating He was still very much alive.  However, when He was ready, He Himself let His spirit go and He died.  In John 10:18, Jesus said that no man could take His life from Him, but He would lay it down Himself; He had the power to lay it down, and He had the power to take it up again.  Jesus, the Author of life, died by a voluntary act of His own.

(51) And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from the top to the bottom, and the earth did quake, and the rocks split.

Immediately after Jesus died, the veil of the temple, which separated the holy place from the holiest of all, was torn in two from top to bottom.  This must have been an awesome sight!  This was no thin curtain that separated the holiest of all from the people.  It is written that, "the thickness of the vail is an hand's breadth, and it is woven of seventy two threads, and every thread has twenty four threads in it: it is forty cubits long, and twenty broad, and is made of eighty two myriads..."  As terrifying a sight as it may have been, it actually represented something very beautiful.  In Jesus's act of dying for our salvation, the veil between God and common sinful man was torn in two, and man was then allowed to come to God.  As the veil was torn in two, the earth quaked and rocks were split apart.  Apparently, rocks are still seen torn asunder at Mount Calvary today.

(52) And the graves were opened, and many bodies of the saints who slept arose.

That was probably the purpose of the earth shaking and rocks splitting, to open the graves of the saints, holy men who had believed in Christ.

(53) And came out of the graves after His resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared to many.

The tombs and sepulchres were opened when Jesus died, but the saints didn't come out of the graves until after His resurrection, demonstrating that Christ had conquered death and would raise all saints.  Those bodies went into Jerusalem and appeared to many in the city, proving the resurrection of bodies after death.

(54) Now when the centurion, and those who were with him watching Jesus, saw the earthquake and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, "Truly this was the Son of God!"

When the centurion, the commander of the Roman soldiers, and those who were with him watching Jesus, witnessed the earthquake, the splitting apart of the rocks, and the opening of the graves of the saints, not to mention the darkening of the sun that had occurred prior to the earthquake, they feared greatly.  They had reason to be very afraid as they realized they had just crucified the Son of God!

(55) And many women were there looking from afar, who followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to Him.

Jesus's very own disciples had scattered, but there were women who had been followers of Jesus and had ministered to Him, who had been at Jesus's crucifixion, watching from a distance.  As a side note, this has been used to prove the truth about Jesus Christ and the Bible.  What men, who were fabricating a story, would admit they were afraid and ran, while the weaker sex stayed and watched what happened to their Lord?

(56) Among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee's children.

Among the women observing from a small distance was Mary Magdalene, who in Luke 8:2 was said to have been delivered by Jesus from seven devils.  There was also Mary, the mother of James and Joseph, who in John 19:25, was said to be the sister of Jesus's mother Mary.  There was also the mother of Jesus's disciples James and John, Zebedee's sons.

(57) When the evening was come, there came a rich man of Arimathaea named Joseph, who himself was also Jesus's disciple.

Evening for the Jews was considered to be between 3:00 in the afternoon until 6:00, about sundown.  Sundown began a new day.  Jesus had died about 3:00 in the afternoon, so sometime after that, Joseph of Arimathaea came.  He had been one of Jesus's broader number of disciples.  He was considered a rich man, but he must have been one of the few willing to give all for Jesus, in order to have been a disciple of Jesus, for Jesus had said it was extremely difficult for a rich man to be saved (Matthew 19:24).

(58) He went to Pilate and begged for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body be delivered to him.

Joseph went to Pontius Pilate, the governor, whose consent was needed in order to take a body down after crucifixion.  He asked for the body of Christ in order to give Him a proper burial and Pilate granted his wish.

(59) And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, (60) And laid it in his own new tomb which he had hewn out of the rock, and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed.

Joseph took the body of Jesus, wrapped it in clean linen cloth and laid it in his own tomb that he had hewn out of rock for himself.  He then rolled a large heavy stone into the doorway of the tomb, and then left.  As He was in life, so He was in death; Jesus had said He had nowhere to lay His head (Matthew 8:20), and He also had no tomb of His own.  Jesus did not live for Himself, but only for others, and He died for all of us.

(61) And there was Mary Magdalene and the other Mary sitting opposite the sepulchre.

Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of James and Joseph, were still there, witnessing all that had happened to Jesus's body.

(62) Now the next day which followed the day of preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together to Pilate, (63) Saying, "We remember that that deceiver said, while He was still alive, 'After three days, I will rise again.'"

The day of preparation was the day before the sabbath when everything was prepared for the sabbath, so that no work had to be done on it.  The day which followed the day of preparation would have been the sabbath day.  The chief priests and Pharisees went to Pilate telling him that they remembered that Jesus had said He would rise after three days.

(64) "Command therefore that the sepulchre be made secure until the third day, lest His disciples come by night and steal Him away, and say to the people, 'He is risen from the dead.' So the last deception shall be worse than the first."

The chief priests and Pharisees therefore asked Pilate to guard Jesus's tomb.  They speculated that His disciples might come and take His body away, and then falsely claim that He had risen from the dead.  They felt that final deception, as they called it, would be worse than any claimed while He was living.

(65) Pilate said to them, "You have a watch; go your way, make it as secure as you can."

Pilate told them to take one of the groups that guarded the temple to act as watch over the tomb, and told them to go quickly and make it as secure as possible.

(66) So they went and made the sepulchre secure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch.

The chief priests and Pharisees went to the tomb of Jesus and made it secure.  They sealed the stone that acted as a door, and then set a guard to watch it.  Little did they know they were acting perfectly in God's will.  All those precautions would make the resurrection of Jesus all the more miraculous and beyond reproach.