With the death of Jesus, all salvation history has reached its turning point. All twenty-seven chapters of Matthew come up to this final chapter, the apex of Matthew’s gospel.

• Matthew omits the mention of purpose for the women coming to the tomb. Dawn locates the event in time-but also has theological significance; this day was truly esteemed by the Church as the dawning of the new age.

• The motifs of earthquake, fear of the guards, death, and resurrection bind this scene to the scene of the death of Jesus. Matthew thinks in terms of one great apocalyptic event, the death-resurrection as the turning point of salvation-history.

• And they came and took hold of his feet: although this is the same Jesus, the women may not hold on to him or to their old relationship with him. The risen Jesus appears to a person only to send that person away, to send him or her on mission to others, yes, to all the nations-the same Jesus, but a new mission.

 

The Gospel opens with the announcement: God with us (1:23) and closes with I am with you always, to the close of the age (28:20). As readers we have special seats from which to watch the unfolding drama. We know that Jesus has made promises that the cross will not be the end of him or his presence among us. Jesus’ resurrection is not the end of the story but a new beginning. The world into which the Christ is raised is different but not completely changed. In what way/s does our perspective change because we are active participants in Christ’s historical resurrection event?

• NIB:

The resurrection is not merely the happy ending of an almost-tragic story of Jesus, a postscript at the end. The resurrection perspective permeates the story throughout, so that all of Matthew’s story is testimony to the risen Lord of the church. The resurrection is thus to be preached from all twenty-eight chapters, not only from the last . . . Without the resurrection, the whole story evaporates.

. . . Faith in the resurrection is a matter of worship, not of analysis and inference (28:16). Even so, it does not exclude doubt, but takes doubt into itself (28:17).

 

Please refer to the sermon for Easter Sunday, 2002 on DPS, "He is Risen Indeed."