Matthew 28:1-20

What is the theme of this chapter?

The power of the King.

What is the key verse(s) of this chapter? Verse 18

And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

What can I apply to my life from this chapter (things to do/avoid)?

Matthew 28:16-20

Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

they saw Him - "they" may include the 500 of 1 Corinthians 15:6, as it is unlikely the apostles would be doubting at this point.

some doubted = can include the meaning of "hesitated," perhaps because they didn’t recognize Him in His glorified body until He began speaking.

go - in the original, this expresses an assumption — "as you are going"

name - singular — the Father, Son and Holy Spirit have one name

"Here is evidence for the trinity of God: one God (the name) who subsists in three Persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit).  Each of the three is distinguished from the others; each possess all the divine attributes; yet the three are one.  This is a mystery that no analogy can illustrate satisfactorily.  The sun, sunlight, and the power of the sun may come close to a suitable illustration." (Ryrie)

"These were the 'poor of the flock' (Zechariah 11) to whom in distant Galilee and far from Jerusalem the Great Shepherd connected Himself, and whom He commissioned to proclaim His rights as King and the laws of His Kingdom throughout the whole earth. He assured them of the donation of all power given to Him both in heaven and in earth, and promised to be with them until the consummation of the age. That consummation would have then come if Israel had repented; but the two tribes in Jerusalem sent Stephen (Acts 7) to say 'We will not have this Man to reign over us,' and the ten tribes in Rome, the capital of the Dispersion, committed a similar message to Paul (Acts 28). Hence this commission is now in abeyance, but will be resumed, and obeyed, when Divine relations are once more resumed with Israel.  There is no Ascension in this Gospel, for all in it relates to the King and to the Kingdom which He proposed to set up upon the earth; and so He promises to be with them until the predicted hour came of the establishment of the kingdom. The interpretation of this commission belongs, therefore, to the Hebrew church, represented by the apostles and the five hundred brethren. The Church of God — the 'secret' revealed in Ephesians — does not here appear, for its home in heavenly, and its commission is to take out from both Hebrews and Gentiles an election to heavenly glory." (Williams)

That this "commission" cannot be intended for the body of Christ, the Church of the age of grace, can be seen by its contrast with 1 Corinthians 1:17, where Paul writes: For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

Matthew 28:11-15

While they were going, behold, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place. And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers and said, “Tell people, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ And if this comes to the governor's ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jews to this day.

guard - Pilate had put the Roman soldiers at the disposal of the Sanhedrin, so the guards reported to the Jews first.

all that had taken place - the earthquake and the appearance of the angel (vs 2-4)

satisfy him - protect them from punishment for failing in their duty

"The desperation of the Sanhedrin can be clearly seen in the explanation that was offered. These witnesses certainly could not support their testimony as to what had happened, for they were asleep. Their story was a best only a guess. A large sum of money would have been necessary to persuade the guards to perjure themselves because, if they were asleep as they stated, they could be executed by the governor for dereliction of duty. In spite of the obvious flimsiness of the testimony and the danger to life, the guards "took the money and did as they were directed" (v 15). Thus they put their lives into the hands of the Sanhedrin. Having committed themselves to this explanation, the leaders circulated the story widely in an effort to explain away the fact of the resurrection of Christ."

"It is significant that while the disciples disbelieved the reports of the resurrection and sought confirmation of it. The Sanhedrin believed the report and sought an explanation to deny it." (Pentecost)

'His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.' - If the guards were asleep as they said, how could they know what happened to the body?

"How would sleeping people know what had happened?  Would it be likely that all the soldiers were sleeping at the same time?  Why would Roman soldiers risk incriminating themselves even for a large bribe?  The story was self-contradictory!" (Ryrie)

Matthew 28:1-10

Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”

The resurrection also appears in Mark 16:1-20; Luke 24:1-12 and John 20:1-31. Each writer gives different details depending on the purpose of the book. Matthew’s is the shortest account.

after the Sabbath - the night of Saturday night and Sunday morning after the Sabbath ended at sundown on Saturday

"It was now Sunday morning, and the work of preparing Christ's body for permanent burial could be done." (Ryrie)

rolled back the stone - to reveal the empty tomb. Jesus was already risen and gone.

He has risen - "This simply stated fact is the basis of our Christ faith." (Ryrie)

as He said - See Matthew 16:21; 17:23; 20:19.

The resurrection is attributed to the Father (Hebrews 13:20); the Son (John 2:19-21; 10:17-18) and the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:11).