Year 2, Week 39, Day 4 Bible Reading Observations

Year 2, Week 39, Day 4

I have a brief observation for today’s reading of Matthew 28; Mark 16; Luke 24.

Today’s reading consists of resurrection narrations from three of the four Gospel accounts. Matthew, Mark, and Luke provide parallel accounts that each start their focus on it being the first day of the week as the day of Christ’s resurrection. The readings from tomorrow and the day after tomorrow will provide John’s Gospel account on the resurrection of Christ. Matthew 28 notes that as some ladies arrived at the tomb, they encountered an angel, but Jesus’ tomb was empty: “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” (Matthew 28:1-2). Mark 16 starts out with a description similar to Matthew’s, but adds a conversation the women were having before they arrived at Jesus’ tomb: “When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” (Mark 16:1-3). The ladies were bringing items to properly prepare Jesus’ body. Luke 24 opens with the surprising absence of Jesus at the tomb He was buried in: “But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus” (Luke 24:1-3). Each Gospel account is emphatic concerning Jesus’ resurrection: “He is not here, for he has risen” (Matthew 28:6); “He has risen; he is not here” (Mark 16:6); “He is not here, but has risen” (Luke 24:6).

One of the things that struck me from today’s reading was how each of the Gospel accounts provides an explicit commission from Jesus in light of His resurrection. While each commission reflects distinct features, each Gospel records Jesus’ instructions for His followers to carry out. Matthew’s account of Jesus’ commission emphasizes the need for discipleship: “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” (Matthew 28:18-20). Matthew’s account focuses on Jesus’ instructions about discipleship. A discipleship that would entail disciples being taught “all that I have commanded you,” which fits well with Matthew’s Gospel account having an overall structure built around five segments containing Jesus’ teaching (see Matthew 5-7, 10, 13, 18, 24-25). Matthew orients Jesus’ commission around Jesus’ authority as the Risen Lord, but also the ongoing, abiding presence with them.

While the details of Mark’s and Luke’s account of Jesus’ commission does not explicitly use the language of discipleship, it does underscore some important aspects that are common to Matthew’s account, as well as other important aspects that are not explicitly found in Matthew. Matthew, Mark, and Luke each speak of the universal scope of the mission given to Jesus’ followers: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19); “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation” (Mark 16:15); “the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem” (Luke 24:47). The scope of Jesus’ commission is not merely to the Jewish people but to all people. And what each Gospel account points to is that Jesus is to be the focus of their Gospel message.

Matthew and Mark make mention of the importance of baptism to the making of disciples and the receiving of salvation. Neither Gospel account implies that the mere observance of baptism is all that is needed, but that baptism should be related to trusting in Jesus: “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:16). The link that Mark conveys is that Jesus declared that anyone who believes in Him should mark that belief outwardly through their baptism. But baptism alone is insufficient. Without true reliance upon Jesus, condemnation is the consequence, with or without baptism. Baptism is intended to be a public identification with the Triune Godhead: “baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19).

While Luke does not mention baptism, he does point out that forgiveness is connected to turning to Jesus: “the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name” (Luke 24:47). In fact, Luke provides some help in grasping what it means to proclaim Christ’s name. Proclaiming Christ’s name involves using the Scriptures to show the significance of what Jesus came to do and what He accomplished: “Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem” (Luke 24:45-47). The suffering and death of Christ, coupled with the victorious resurrection of Christ is the Gospel message that is to be shared. The result of that message is not only the salvation of all who believe in Jesus and also the means through which believers are trained to become obedient followers of Christ. 

What struck you in today’s reading? What questions were prompted from today’s reading?

Pastor Joe