Jan's Bible NotesMatthew 28
1 Just before dawn on Sunday. Two Mary’s.
2 An earthquake (only mentioned in Matthew); the earth quaked when Jesus died (27:51) and when He rose. An angel (not THE angel of the Lord, who is the preincarnate Christ in the Old Testament). Was the stone rolled away so that Jesus could come out?
3 What did the angel look like? Do we see wings, or a female angel, as in popular culture today? Always male; the only angels described as having wings are the cherubim, with four wings (Gen. 3:24, Ez. 10:20-21) and the seraphim, with six wings (Is. 6:2, Rev. 4:8).
4 The reaction of the guards.
Each gospel gives a somewhat different view of the events. The Schofield reference Bible gives this possible combined view: Three women (Mary Magdalene, Mary mother of James, Salome) start for the tomb followed by other women bearing spices. The three find the stone rolled away, Mary M goes to tell the disciples. Mary, mother of James, approaches the tomb, sees an angel. She goes to meet the other women. Peter and John, after meeting Mary M, arrive, look in and leave. Mary M returns, weeping, sees two angels, sees Jesus. He tells her to go tell the disciples. Mary, mother of James, returns with the other women, they see two angels, go to find the disciples, are met by Jesus.
5-7 Why do you suppose that an angel was there at the empty tomb?
8-10 What was their reaction? Jesus and the angel both start with what words? They bowed, fell to the ground before Him, worshipped. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the central point of Christianity. Would His substitutionary death on the cross be of any value if He were just a man, subject to death? But the resurrection PROVES that Jesus is God. No other religion has an empty tomb. The sermons recorded in Acts center around the fact of the resurrection. Jesus did not rise from the dead in just His spirit; He had a body that could be seen, recognized, touched, that ate food, that had flesh and bone, Luke 24:39. Yet He could appear and vanish, even in locked rooms, and could ascend bodily into heaven. Read I Cor. 15:13-24. It goes on to explain the difference between our earthly bodies and our spiritual bodies, and how they will be changed. Read 15:50-54.
11-15 Bribing the soldiers. Pretty far-fetched. How could they know this if they were asleep? Why would they admit to falling asleep? Don’t you suppose they would have been executed if this had really happened? And other New Testament accounts tell of many eyewitnesses to the resurrection, which refute the idea that Jesus stayed dead.
16 We read nothing about a mountain, so we see that we only have a sketchy account of what all happened and was said.
17 When you realize who He is and what He did, the proper reaction is to worship Him. Even believers doubted. But it’s hard not to have doubts, then and now. Read Mark 16:11-14.
18-20 This section is called the Great Commission. Matthew has been presenting the King and the kingdom. Jesus the King has all authority; His kingdom is now (for believers) as well as future (for Israel). If He has all authority, does anything “just happen”? Or is EVERYTHING under His control? After the resurrection, this is the plan. What four commmands? Is a disciple more than just a believer or a convert? “Observe all” is a way of saying what? Obey. The King is to be obeyed by His subjects. Later we will find that we are given the power to obey by the indwelling Holy Spirit. Obedience should follow belief. But it doesn’t come automatically; what is needed? Teaching. All nations; this is why we have missionaries. In the old dispensation, the Jews had the Law and the temple, and the world was to come to them; they were not told to take God's Word to the nations. In the new dispensation, the church age, we are to take God's Word to the world. But His primary meaning was probably that now salvation is not just for the Jews, but for the Gentiles too, people of all nations. So this is for each of us; we don’t have to go to other nations to obey this, but we can share the good news with everyone, people of all nationalities, everyone we are in contact with.
Baptism is commanded, but is not necessary for salvation, as we see when we study all the related passages on baptism. The thief on the cross was not baptized but Jesus said he would be with Him that day in paradise. The word baptism means to be identified with. Jesus was baptized to be identified with mankind; it obviously had nothing to do with sins or salvation. Rom. 6:3-5 shows us it is a picture, an outward action that pictures a truth, just as the Lord’s Supper is an outward action that pictures a truth. The Bible is clear that works/actions of any kind can not make us more acceptable to God—only faith in Christ. We also see the trinity in this statement about baptism.
The term “disciple” is not in the KJV; “go ye therefore and teach all nations.” “Disciple” means learner, pupil. There is a teaching among some Christians called “discipling,” also called “shepherding.” A believer (not just a pastor or teacher) takes another believer, possibly a less mature believer, and “disciples” them. It is a kind of relationship where the one is over the other one, and the one being discipled is accountable to the discipler. In some groups that teach this, it can become an abuse of power over the other person. This arrangement is not found in the Bible; a disciple is someone who has come to Christ, is a follower of Christ. Pastors and other teachers have the responsibility to teach and help people grow, the Holy Spirit is our teacher, and each of us can help and encourage each other in our walk with Christ, and someone might even be “mentoring” a new or young believer. But those who take it farther as an authority over others, a chain of command, are twisting Scripture. This is the only New Testament verse that uses the word “teach” as “to make disciples;” there are many references to teaching, and to disciples as being followers of Christ. But there are no references to “discipling” as a relationship between two believers.
20 The last half of this verse is packed with meaning. Does God ever leave us? Don’t we feel that way sometimes though? When we FEEL that way, here is where we go to remind ourselves of the FACTS. Jesus is saying He and the Holy Spirit are equal, even though this doesn’t mention the Holy Spirit. Jesus the man is not with us; John 14, 15, 16 make it clear that when Jesus leaves, the Holy Spirit will come and be IN us, not just with us. The New Testament speaks of the indwelling Holy Spirit. This is an amazing thing, which we cannot comprehend. It has nothing to do with FEELING Him in our lives. When is the end of the age? Mt. 13:39-40. What happens at the harvest? When is that? So what will happen at the end of the age? He will return and once again be physically with us, in the millenial kingdom, His 1000 year reign on this earth. Believers at that time will not have the indwelling Holy Spirit, as in the church age. Believers have one or the other, not both at the same time, John 16:7.
In Matthew, we have seen very little mention of the terms receive or believe, as far as salvation goes. Matthew has stressed instead the ideas of righteousness and the kingdom (who will enter, and how). We see those other terms more in John’s gospel. We have seen God’s plan for Israel, for the kingdom He promised them on this earth, why it was postponed, and what God’s plan is in the meantime. While Israel is put on hold, God is dealing with the Gentiles, forming a new group of believers called the church, the body of Christ. This is clarified more in the epistles. When He is finished dealing with this group, He will remove them from the earth and resume His dealings with Israel. At that time, they will receive everything He promised them in the Old Testament.
Copyright 2003 Jan Young