Read the Bible in 2023 ◊ Week 10: Saturday

Saturday’s Bible reading of Matthew 26–28, finishes the Gospel of Matthew. The events in these chapters begin two days before the Passover, and record Jesus’ betrayal, arrest and trial; His death and Resurrection; and His final charge to His disciples, Matthew 28:18–20, know as the Great Commission.

Some details of the events of these days given by Matthew that are not in the other Gospels include the last interchange between Judas and the chief priests and elders, the death of Judas, and the famous scene of Pilate washing his hands. R. E. Nixon comments:

“The hand-washing was a Jewish custom to signify the removal of guilt (Dt. 21:6; Ps. 73:13) but Pilate may have used it either in desperation or in mockery. The people make a terrible cry, accepting the consequences of Jesus’ death…This most Jewish Gospel affirms that it was all the people. The saying has been wrongly used in later generations to persecute the Jews…Pilate probably gave in in the end because of the need to keep in with the emperor (Jn. 19:12).”¹

The resurrection of the saints that occurs when Jesus is resurrected is also found only in Matthew.

Matthew closes his Gospel with the Great Commission in which Jesus tells His disciples to go to all the nations.

R. T. France writes,

“Baptizing and ‘teaching’ (v. 20) are participles dependent on the main verb, make disciples; they further specify what is involved in discipleship…while John’s baptism was only a preparatory one (3:11), Jesus now institutes one with a fuller meaning. It is a commitment to (in the name is literally ‘into the name’, implying entrance into an allegiance)…

“Hitherto Jesus alone has been the teacher, and the verb has not been used by Matthew of his disciples’ ministry. Now they are to take over his role of teaching, which is the necessay application of his ‘authority’…They are to teach not just abstract ideas, but to observe all that I have commanded you…To make disciples is not complete unless it leads them to a life of observing Jesus’ commandments.”²

Nixon closes his commentary with these words:

“Emmanuel, ‘God with us’ (1:23) in humiliation, is now glorified and with His disciples until the close of the age (cf. 13:39, 40, 49; 24:3). He has accomplished His work in His incarnation. He gives us His presence so that we may accomplish ours.”³

I love the way in which Matthew reminds us that even as Jesus came to be Emmanuel, ‘God with us’, Jesus gave us His promise that He is still with us right now. Whatever may happen as we fulfill the work He has given us to do, we are never alone; He is with us always.

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Silvesterzug Laterne: Bk muc. (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Pilate Washes His Hands (Pilate se lave les mains), James Tissot: Public Domain.
Chaplains Lt. Scott Callaham and Lt. Tony Carr, baptize Machinist Mate 2nd Class Shilow Timmons: On the fantail aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74). This baptism marked Stennis 3rd full body baptism at sea in her 13 year history: Public Domain.
^1,3R. E. Nixon, “Matthew,” The New Bible Commentary: Revised, D. Guthrie, J. A. Motyer, eds., A. M. Stibbs, D. J. Wiseman, contributing eds., (Inter-Varsity Press, Downers Grove IL: 1970) 849, 850.
²R. T. France, The Gospel According to Matthew (Wm B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids MI: 1985) 414–415.

I’m using Michael Coley’s Bible reading plan (one page PDF to print) to read through the Bible in 2023. Each day my posts are on different books because he divides Bible readings into seven categories, one for each day of the week: Epistles, The Law, History, Psalms, Poetry, Prophecy and Gospels. There’s more information on his plan and other ones at Read the Bible in 2023.

Copyright ©2011–2023 Iwana Carpenter