All
four gospels tell the story of the resurrection … well, actually, the story of when
the women were told about Jesus’s resurrection when they arrived at his tomb to
find it empty. The actual resurrection event is not recorded by any gospel. Its
reality is simply proclaimed.
Having
proclaimed the resurrection, each gospel then relates different
post-resurrection appearances of Jesus. These post-resurrection experiences play a specific role in the gospel.
They convey the gospel writers’ understanding of the significance and
implication of the resurrection. Interestingly but not surprisingly, the post-resurrection stories each gospel tells and the emphasis each makes is different. In spite of the different emphases, each gospel presents
the resurrection as the central reality that shapes the life of the follower of
Jesus and, thereby, of the church. (In 1 Corinthians 15, the Apostle Paul
reasoned that the resurrection was the heart of the gospel. Without it, the
Christian movement was an empty farce.)
During
the remainder of the 2021 Easter season, I will explore the different emphasis
of each gospel writer, seeking to understand the implication for our lives as
the followers of Jesus today.
The
gospel of Matthew records a single post-resurrection appearance. Jesus met his
disciples in Galilee where he gave them what we call “the great commandment:”
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. As you are going
(literal translation of the word commonly translated as ‘Go’), make disciples
of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of
the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded
you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew
28:18-20).
This
familiar commandment is preceded by a statement that is often skipped over:
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” This statement
summarizes the message proclaimed by the gospel. Matthew’s gospel was written
to a Jewish Christian community that was being persecuted by Pharisaic Jews for
the Christians’ failure to follow the Law of Moses. The gospel presented Jesus
as the promised Son of Man (Daniel 7:13—14), the long-awaited Messiah. He was
therefore greater than Moses. What he taught fulfilled the Law (Matthew 5:17).
It went beyond the behavior prescribed by the Law to the underlying principle
and truth upon which each law was based (Matthew 5:21, 27, 31, 33, 38, 43). As
the Messiah, Jesus established the kingdom of God for which the nation of
Israel longed. This “all authority” statement restates that Jesus was the
Messiah. It proclaims “Jesus is Lord!”
The
commandment is based upon the reality that “Jesus is Lord!” Because Jesus was
the Messiah, his followers were to be about the business of making disciples.
Among all ethnic groups—not just among the people of Israel—his followers were
to lead others to become followers of Jesus, students (the core meaning of the
word disciple) who learned from Jesus the ways of God and the ways of the
Kingdom. (The Pharisees identified themselves as disciples of Moses who
followed the Law Moses gave.)
The
task of enlisting more followers of Jesus involved a three-dimensional process
reflected in the three participles in the command: baptizing, teaching, going. Baptizing was the means by which these
new followers identified themselves with Jesus and with his community of
followers. Baptism took the place of Jewish circumcision as the identifying
mark of the people of God. Teaching
was training. It involved teaching knowledge of what Jesus taught, but the
objective of the teaching was “to obey everything I have commanded you.” The
objective was to live the ways of God that Jesus taught … which leads to going. Going carries the idea of living
everyday life. The normal routine and relationships of everyday life were the
place where the ways of God were to be lived. The experience of God’s grace and
forgiveness from Jesus’s followers would create an openness in the heart of
others to hear about Jesus and the alternative way of life he taught. That
hearing would lead to them embracing Jesus and his teachings for their own lives.
They would identity with him and his followers through baptism. The Christian
community would teach and train them to live the ways of God Jesus taught
(teaching) in their everyday lives (going). And the process would repeat itself
over and over again as each new follower of Jesus touched the lives of those in
their circle of relationships with the grace of God.
Which
brings us to the implication for our lives as the followers of Jesus today. Our
familiarity with this commandment leads us to hear it as a command to go
witness to others. A better understanding, in my mind, is to understand it as a
command to love others, to forgive others, to serve others. It is a call to
live what Jesus taught in the normal relationships of our lives. Loving another
in the name of Jesus opens the door for the other to hear what we say about our
own experience of Jesus (witness).
If
we are to live what Jesus taught, our life as a community of the followers of
Jesus must center on learning what Jesus taught and supporting one another as
we seek to put those teachings into practice (teaching). This teaching-training
goes beyond our normal Bible studies. Its focus is not on what the Bible says,
but upon what Jesus taught. Its goal is not learning but doing. Its outcome is
not belief but a transformed life … and new followers! The community with which
we walk moves beyond social relationships to supportive relationships as we
seek to live what Jesus taught. See Acts 4:23—31 for an example of this kind of
supportive fellowship.
For
the author of Matthew’s gospel, the resurrection led to learning, living, and
sharing the ways of God Jesus taught so that new followers were enlisted into
the community.
Which
raises the question: what implication does the resurrection have for each of us
today as the followers of Jesus?
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