Monday 13 April 2009

Background

The Gospel-writer Matthew tells of how the risen Jesus meets thewomen after they have been to his tomb and have been told by anangel that he has been raised from the dead. Their first responsewas to worship him. For disciples of Jesus, the Resurrection isevidence of God at work in him, so much so that Jesus is worshippedas divine.

Jesus then tells them to go and tell his brothers to go back toGalilee from Jerusalem, where his arrest and execution took place,and he would meet them there. Galilee was very much looked upon asan outpost of the Jewish nation. Galileans were considered to beunsophisticated provincial people (John 1:46).

Matthew seems keen to get on and explain how the Christian faith,though it begins among the Jews, moves away to include thenon-Jewish world. The disciples are to move away from the centre ofJudaism in Jerusalem. Verse 10 points to the end of chapter 28where, in Galilee rather than Jerusalem, Jesus commands hisdisciples to "make disciples of all nations".

At the end of this passage Matthew tells how a story that thedisciples stole the body of Jesus originated. It seemed strange toearly Christians that so many Jews did not believe that Jesus wasthe Messiah (God's Chosen One, who was to come and save the Jewishpeople) and this is one of the occasions when Matthew offers anexplanation why this was so.

To Ponder

Why do you think the women went to the tomb firstand took the message that Jesus had risen to the men?

Jesus lived the whole of his life as Jew and sawhis ministry as to the Jews alone (Matthew 15:24).Why do you think Christianity became a worldwide faith?