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THE GOSPEL
ACCORDING TO
MATTHEW
Commentary by DAVID BROWN
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CHAPTER 28
@Mt
28:1-15. GLORIOUS ANGELIC ANNOUNCEMENT ON THE FIRST
DAY OF THE WEEK, THAT CHRIST IS RISEN--HIS APPEARANCE TO
THE WOMEN--THE GUARDS BRIBED TO GIVE A FALSE ACCOUNT OF
THE RESURRECTION. ( = @Mr
16:1-8 Lu 24:1-8 Joh 20:1).
The Resurrection Announced to the Women (@Mt
28:1-8).
1. In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn--after
the Sabbath, as it grew toward daylight.
toward the first day of
the week--Luke (@Lu
24:1) has it, "very early in the
morning"--properly, "at the first appearance of
daybreak"; and corresponding with this, John (@Joh
20:1) says, "when it was yet dark." See on Mr
16:2. Not an hour, it would seem, was lost by those
dear lovers of the Lord Jesus.
came Mary Magdalene, and
the other Mary--"the mother of James and Joses"
(see on Mt
27:56; Mt
27:61).
to see the sepulchre--with
a view to the anointing of the body, for which they had
made all their preparations. (See on Mr
16:1,2).
And, behold, there was--that
is, there had been, before the arrival of the women.
a great earthquake; for
the angel of the Lord descended from heaven,
&c.--And this was the state of things when the women
drew near. Some judicious critics think all this was
transacted while the women were approaching; but the view
we have given, which is the prevalent one, seems the more
natural. All this august preparation--recorded by Matthew
alone--bespoke the grandeur of the exit which was to
follow. The angel sat upon the huge stone, to overawe,
with the lightning--luster that darted from him, the Roman
guard, and do honor to his rising Lord.
3. His countenance--appearance.
was like lightning, and
his raiment white as snow--the one expressing the glory,
the other the purity of the celestial abode from
which he came.
4. And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and
became as dead men--Is the sepulchre "sure"
now, O ye chief priests? He that sitteth in the heavens
doth laugh at you.
5. And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear
not ye--The "ye" here is emphatic, to
contrast their case with that of the guards. "Let
those puny creatures, sent to keep the Living One among
the dead, for fear of Me shake and become as dead men (@Mt
28:4); but ye that have come hither on another errand,
fear not ye."
for I know that ye seek
Jesus, which was crucified--Jesus the Crucified.
6. He is not here; for he is risen, as he said--See
on Lu
24:5-7.
Come--as in @Mt
11:28.
see the place where the
Lord lay--Charming invitation! "Come, see the
spot where the Lord of glory lay: now it is an empty
grave: He lies not here, but He lay there. Come,
feast your eyes on it!" But see on Joh
20:12.
7. And go quickly, and tell his disciples--For a
precious addition to this, see on Mr
16:7.
that he is risen from
the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee--to
which those women belonged (@Mt
27:55).
there shall ye see him--This
must refer to those more public manifestations of Himself
to large numbers of disciples at once, which He vouchsafed
only in Galilee; for individually He was seen of some of
those very women almost immediately after this (@Mt
28:9,10).
Lo, I have told you--Behold,
ye have this word from the world of light!
8. And they departed quickly--Mark (@Mr
16:8) says "they fled."
from the sepulchre with
fear and great joy--How natural this combination of
feelings! See on a similar statement of @Mr
16:11.
and did run to bring his
disciples word--"Neither said they anything to
any man [by the way]; for they were afraid" (@Mr
16:8).
Appearance to the Women (@Mt
28:9,10).
This appearance is recorded only by Matthew.
9. And as they went to tell his disciples, behold,
Jesus met them, saying, All hail!--the usual salute,
but from the lips of Jesus bearing a higher signification.
And they came and held
him by the feet--How truly womanly!
10. Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid--What
dear associations would these familiar words--now uttered
in a higher style, but by the same Lips--bring rushing
back to their recollection!
go tell my brethren that
they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me--The
brethren here meant must have been His brethren after the
flesh (compare @Mt
13:55); for His brethren in the higher sense (see on Joh
20:17) had several meetings with Him at Jerusalem before
He went to Galilee, which they would have missed if they
had been the persons ordered to Galilee to meet Him.
The Guards Bribed (@Mt
28:11-15).
The whole of this important portion is peculiar to
Matthew.
11. Now when they were going--while the women were
on their way to deliver to His brethren the message of
their risen Lord.
some of the watch came
into the city, and showed unto the chief priests all the
things that were done--Simple, unsophisticated
soldiers! How could ye imagine that such a tale as ye had
to tell would not at once commend itself to your scared
employers? Had they doubted this for a moment, would they
have ventured to go near them, knowing it was death to a
Roman soldier to be proved asleep when on guard? and of
course that was the only other explanation of the case.
12. And when they were assembled with the elders--But
Joseph at least was absent: Gamaliel probably also; and
perhaps others.
and had taken counsel,
they gave large money unto the soldiers--It would need
a good deal; but the whole case of the Jewish authorities
was now at stake. With what contempt must these soldiers
have regarded the Jewish ecclesiastics!
13. Saying, Say ye, His disciples came by night, and
stole him away while we slept--which, as we have
observed, was a capital offense for soldiers on guard.
14. And if this come to the governor's ears--rather,
"If this come before the governor"; that is, not
in the way of mere report, but for judicial investigation.
we will persuade him,
and secure you--The "we" and the
"you" are emphatic here--"we shall [take
care to] persuade him and keep you from trouble," or
"save you harmless." The grammatical form of
this clause implies that the thing supposed was expected
to happen. The meaning then is, "If this come before
the governor--as it likely will--we shall see to it
that," &c. The "persuasion" of Pilate
meant, doubtless, quieting him by a bribe, which we know
otherwise he was by no means above taking (like Felix
afterwards, @Ac
24:26).
15. So they took the money, and did as they were taught--thus
consenting to brand themselves with infamy.
and this saying is
commonly reported among the Jews until this day--to
the date of the publication of this Gospel. The wonder is
that so clumsy and incredible a story lasted so long. But
those who are resolved not to come to the light
will catch at straws. JUSTIN MARTYR, who flourished about
A.D. 170, says, in his Dialogue with Trypho the Jew,
that the Jews dispersed the story by means of special
messengers sent to every country.
@Mt
28:16-20. JESUS MEETS WITH THE DISCIPLES ON A MOUNTAIN
IN GALILEE AND GIVES FORTH THE GREAT COMMISSION.
16. Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee--but
certainly not before the second week after the
resurrection, and probably somewhat later.
into a mountain where
Jesus had appointed them--It should have been rendered
"the mountain," meaning some certain mountain
which He had named to them--probably the night before He
suffered, when He said, "After I am risen, I will go
before you into Galilee" (@Mt
26:32 Mr 14:28). What it was can only be conjectured;
but of the two between which opinions are divided--the
Mount of the Beatitudes or Mount Tabor--the former is much
the more probable, from its nearness to the Sea of
Tiberias, where last before this the Narrative tells us
that He met and dined with seven of them. (@Joh
21:1, &c.). That the interview here recorded was
the same as that referred to in one
place only--@1Co
15:6--when "He was seen of above five hundred
brethren at once; of whom the greater part remained unto
that day, though some were fallen asleep," is now the
opinion of the ablest students of the evangelical history.
Nothing can account for such a number as five hundred
assembling at one spot but the expectation of some
promised manifestation of their risen Lord: and the
promise before His resurrection, twice repeated after it,
best explains this immense gathering.
17. And when they saw him, they worshipped him; but
some doubted--certainly none of "the
Eleven," after what took place at previous interviews
in Jerusalem. But if the five hundred were now present, we
may well believe this of some of them.
19. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations--rather,
"make disciples of all nations"; for
"teaching," in the more usual sense of that
word, comes in afterwards, and is expressed by a different
term.
baptizing them in the
name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost--It
should be, "into the name"; as in @1Co
10:2, "And were all baptized unto (or rather 'into')
Moses"; and @Ga
3:27, "For as many of you as have been baptized into
Christ."
20. Teaching them--This is teaching in the more
usual sense of the term; or instructing the converted and
baptized disciples.
to observe all things
whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I--The
"I" here is emphatic. It is enough that I
am with you alway--"all
the days"; that is, till making converts, baptizing,
and building them up by Christian instruction, shall be no
more.
even unto the end of the
world. Amen--This glorious Commission embraces two
primary departments, the Missionary and the Pastoral,
with two sublime and comprehensive Encouragements
to undertake and go through with them.
First, The MISSIONARY department (@Mt
28:18): "Go, make disciples of all nations."
In the corresponding passage of Mark (@Mr
16:15) it is, "Go ye into all the world, and
preach the Gospel to every creature." The only
difference is, that in this passage the sphere, in
its world-wide compass and its universality of objects,
is more fully and definitely expressed; while in the
former the great aim and certain result is
delightfully expressed in the command to "make
disciples of all nations." "Go, conquer the
world for Me; carry the glad tidings into all lands and to
every ear, and deem not this work at an end till all
nations shall have embraced the Gospel and enrolled
themselves My disciples." Now, Was all this meant to
be done by the Eleven men nearest to Him of the multitude
then crowding around the risen Redeemer? Impossible. Was
it to be done even in their lifetime? Surely not. In that
little band Jesus virtually addressed Himself to all who,
in every age, should take up from them the same work.
Before the eyes of the Church's risen Head were spread
out, in those Eleven men, all His servants of every age;
and one and all of them received His commission at that
moment. Well, what next? Set the seal of visible
discipleship upon the converts, by "baptizing them
into the name," that is, into the whole fulness of
the grace "of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Ghost," as belonging to them who believe. (See
on 2Co
13:14). This done, the Missionary department of your
work, which in its own nature is temporary, must merge in
another, which is permanent. This is
Second, The PASTORAL department (@Mt
28:20): "Teach them"--teach these baptized
members of the Church visible--"to observe all things
whatsoever I have commanded you," My apostles, during
the three years ye have been. with Me. What must have been
the feelings which such a Commission awakened? "WE
who have scarce conquered our own misgivings--we,
fishermen of Galilee, with no letters, no means, no
influence over the humblest creature, conquer the world
for Thee, Lord? Nay, Lord, do not mock us." "I
mock you not, nor send you a warfare on your own charges.
For"--Here we are brought to
Third, The ENCOURAGEMENTS to undertake and go through with
this work. These are two; one in the van, the other in the
rear of the Commission itself.
First Encouragement: "All power in heaven"--the
whole power of Heaven's love and wisdom and strength,
"and all power in earth"--power over all
persons, all passions, all principles, all movements--to
bend them to this one high object, the evangelization of
the world: All this "is given unto Me."
as the risen Lord of all, to be by Me placed at your
command--"Go ye therefore." But there
remains a
Second Encouragement: "And lo! I am with you all the
days"--not only to perpetuity, but without one day's
interruption, "even to the end of the world,"
The "Amen" is of doubtful genuineness in this
place. If, however, it belongs to the text, it is the
Evangelist's own closing word.
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