Matt. 28:1-10 – On the first day of the week after the Passover, Jesus rises from the dead. The first person to see Him is a woman for whom He exorcised seven demons. I cannot imagine what Mary Magdalene’s life was like and what horror she experienced before Jesus healed her. Sadly, some have postulated that Mary Magdalene was Jesus’ girlfriend, and she had previously been a prostitute. Neither of these things are born out in Scripture. Mary and the “other” Mary were coming to the tomb to prepare Jesus’ body in the Jewish manner of burial. These devoted women (and other women who were with them – Luke 24:10) must have been dreading the task they were about to perform. But, as the dawn had risen on a new day, so the King of Truth had risen from the dead. These women first see the angel who had rolled away the stone, then hear this angel say, “Do not be afraid . . . He is not here; He is risen . . .” And then they run with fear and joy to tell the disciples as the angel commissioned them to do. I love this next part. Before they could get to the disciples, Matthew says: “And behold, Jesus met them and greeted them.” In my life of 70 years, I have experienced some difficult trials – the death of my father at the age of 15, the loss of kidney function at the age of 40, and this past year and a half with the diagnosis of an aggressive cancer and major back surgery. With every trial, Jesus comes to meet and greet me when all seems to be lost. No, not in a physical form, of course. But His love and care for me raises me up, and then He attends to my needs like a loving Shepherd cares for a ‘downcast’ sheep. The beautiful song written in the 18th century affirms what I have come to know about my risen Savior, “Come, ye disconsolate, where’er ye languish; Come to the mercy seat, fervently kneel. Here bring your wounded hearts; here tell your anguish. Earth has no sorrow that heav’n cannot heal.” (“Come, Ye Disconsolate”, Thomas Moore, 1779-1852)
Matt. 28:11-15 – I only have one thing to say about these verses: “Satan always has a lie to respond to the Truth of God . . . he has from the very beginning.”
Matt. 28:16-20 – As the reunited eleven proceed to the mountain in Galilee that Jesus had designated as the place to meet Him, there must have been constant and excited discussion and questions among them. Jesus calms their anxieties with a statement of regal power, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” Upon this profound and confident declaration, Jesus commands the disciples to do the very thing He demonstrated to them during His ministry while on earth – make disciples. There is no greater work; there is no greater quest; there is no greater commission than to make disciples for the Master.
This is my last posting of Meditations in the gospel of Matthew. I am writing this while a foreboding, summer-like storm is flashing with lightning and sounding with thunder outside my open window. It’s a good ending to the greatest story ever told. I have learned so much from this experience. I pray you have been encouraged in some small way by my reflections. All glory be to the Master Teacher! ~ Mark