A New Age

Matthew 28: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+28&version=NIV

            When Matthew 28 is read in our churches, we often read verses 1-10, about Jesus’ resurrection, and verses 16-20, the great commission. We never have a chance to talk about verses 11-15. Let’s take a quick look.

            A violent earthquake is one of Matthew’s unique details about Easter morning. That’s the third reference to earthquakes in Matthew. The previous one was just back in Matthew 27, when Jesus died. The first one had been in Jesus’ conversation about the destruction of Jerusalem, “Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.” In including these details it’s like Matthew wants to make sure that we don’t miss it: Jesus’ death and resurrection are the hinges on which history turns. Israel’s fate is sealed, and the world’s future is opened.

            That Israel’s fate is sealed is demonstrated in the middle section, the plot of the chief priests to undermine the news of the resurrection. As the story makes clear, they have no real answer to the question of what happened, but they are willing to bribe the guards to cast doubt on what the disciples are saying. Some things never change, and the religious leaders of Israel refuse even the “sign of Jonah.” Now, everything that Jesus has said will come to pass.

            The last section, the so-called Great Commission, has been understood as the institution of Holy Baptism, the institution of the Office of the Ministry, and the great mission charge to the church. It is all that and more too. When Jesus declares that all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Him, He is claiming His rightful place as Israel’s—and the world’s—king. God’s new creation has begun; the world is under new management; restoration is begun—a restoration that is marked by Baptism into Christ, administered by those who hold the Office of Ministry, and includes a mission to bring the whole world under Christ’s reign.