This is the final chapter of our study of Matthew's Gospel, a collaboration between Mary Barmore and Alice C. Linsley. To prepare, read Matthew chapter 28. When you have finished, answer the 8 questions. Scroll to the bottom to check your answers.
Introduction
Matthew 28 recounts the resurrection of Jesus, beginning with women coming to the guarded tomb. An earthquake occurred and an angel descended from heaven and rolled away the stone at the entrance to the tomb. The guards trembled with fear. The angel greeted the women and announced that Jesus had risen. Jesus appeared to them, instructing them to tell the disciples to meet him in Galilee. The chapter ends with the Great Commission where Jesus commands his followers to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. He promises to be with his people to the close of the age.Questions
1.When did the women come to the tomb?
2. What did the angel say to the women?
3. How did the women react to the angel's message?
4. What did the women do when Jesus met them?
5. What did the chief priests and elders do when the guards came to report what had happened?
6. How did the eleven disciples react when they saw Jesus in Galilee?
7. Why did Jesus say, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me"? (v. 18)
8. What liturgical formula is essential to baptism as Jesus commanded? (A liturgical formula is a prescribed form of words or prayers used in public worship to perform specific religious acts such as the Lord's Supper and Baptism.)
Answers
1. Two women named Mary came to the tomb very early in the morning on a Sunday. They came toward dawn. John 20:1 indicates that it was still dark. Sunrise Easter services are a way of acknowledging Jesus' resurrection which happened before dawn. Among the early Hebrew (4000-2000 B.C.) the Son of God was associated with the sun. He was said to rise in the morning as a lamb and to grow to the mature strength of a ram at sunset. He rode with the Father on the solar boat. The boat of the morning hours was called Mandjet and the boat of the evening hours was called Mesektet. While the Son was on the Mesektet, he was in his ram-headed form. You will recall that God provided a ram for Abraham to sacrifice on Mount Moriah. Abraham would have recognized the ram as a symbol of the Son of God yet to come.
2. The angel told them not to be afraid and explained that Jesus had risen. The women were invited to see the place where Jesus' body had been laid. They were witnesses that He was not there. The angel then told them to go quickly and tell the disciples that Jesus had risen from the dead and that he was going before them to Galilee where they would see him.
3. The women left the tomb immediately. They felt fear and great joy. They ran to tell the disciples as Jesus had instructed them.
4. When Jesus met the women, they took hold of his feet and worshipped him. There was no doubt in their minds who the man was. They became firsthand witnesses to the reality of Jesus' resurrection.
5. The chief priests and elders paid the guards to spread a lie that Jesus' disciples had come and taken away the body by night.
6. When the disciples saw the Risen Lord Jesus in Galilee they worshipped him, but some still had doubts.
7. By his death and resurrection Jesus took complete authority over sin and death and over the Evil One on earth. He receives all authority from God the Father who will make all God's enemies Christ's footstool (Ps. 110:11). Acting on his supreme authority, Jesus authorized his disciples to go into the world and encourage others to be obedient to the Gospel.
8. Christian baptism requires that the person be baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Christianity is a trinitarian faith. Jesus' early Hebrew ancestors believed in God Father, God Son, and the life-generating Spirit of God long before Judaism emerged as a world religion. The Christian faith is summarized in the Apostles' Creed (often recited at baptisms) and the Nicene Creed. The Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed are foundational summaries of the Christian faith.
Mary and Alice are thankful for the wide readership of our study of Matthew's Gospel. We pray that what we have written will be a blessing and will strengthen your faith. May this Bright Week be a time of rejoicing because Christ is risen. He is risen indeed!
In May, we will begin our study of Mark's Gospel. Please join us!
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