A Key Passage to Understand the Gospel of Matthew

Understanding the Gospel of Matthew

Matthew 28:16-20 - The Key Passage to Understand Matthew's Gospel

Backgrounder on the gospel of Matthew

The gospel of Matthew is composed of 28 chapters. It is one of the synoptic gospels, together with Mark and Luke. Synoptic gospels mean that these gospels have a common source and tradition from which they obtained their present content. This is why if the three gospels were examined in more detail, one will discover passages in one gospel that are also found in the other two gospels. There are slight differences in presentation and some are placed in different contexts.

The key passage to understand the gospel of Matthew


The key passage to understand the gospel of Matthew can be found in the last chapter and passage of the gospel: Matthew 28:16-20. This is the Ascension scene where Jesus calls His apostles, and gives them His missionary mandate. He says in Mt 28:16-20, "All authority in heaven and 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." It is from this key passage that many bible scholars say the christological and ecclesiological affirmations of the gospel are expressed. By christological, it means all that refers to the study of the nature and person of Christ. And by ecclesiological, it means all that refers to the study of the nature and mission of the Catholic Church. Christological and Ecclesiological are theology terms (and theology subjects in themselves) but when simplified in everyday language, it can be easy to understand.

The Christological affirmation of the gospel of Matthew


If you place your attention to the temptation of Jesus in the beginning of Matthew, you can read the Evil One tempting Jesus to receive the power and authority of the kingdoms of the earth - which the Evil One would give, if Jesus would worship him. Knowing this as diabolical, Jesus said No. It was the faithfulness of Jesus to His mission and His obedience to the will of the Father, that granted Him the authority to give a missionary mandate to His apostles and disciples on the mountain of the Ascension. The Father has given Jesus authority in both heaven and on earth. The Evil One tempted Him with earthly authority, but Jesus obeyed God's will, underwent His passion and death on the Cross, and received the divine authority for both heaven and earth. The Christological affirmation therefore that can be gained from the key passage of Matthew 28:16-20 is: Jesus is the glorious Son of Man to whom the Father has turned over all power and authority throughout all the universe. Jesus Christ is the Messiah, the Savior of mankind, who has authority over all.

The Ecclesiological affirmation of the gospel of Matthew

The ecclesiological affirmation of the gospel of Matthew simply means that the Church was commissioned by Jesus to go out into the whole world and evangelize peoples with the message of the Gospel - baptizing all in the name of the Blessed Trinity. For the evangelist Matthew, it was important that the readers of his gospel know that the Church is basically a community of disciples making disciples. The emphasis in the community of disciples making disciples is in the value of service above power and authority. This truth is well expressed in Matthew chapter 18 which speaks in terms of brotherhood, and also in Matthew 24:45-51, which speaks of servants in charge of fellow servants. Thus, when this nascent Church at the mount of Ascension is given her commission to preach and teach the nations the Good News, she is to do so in the spirit of service and brotherhood. And the authority by which members of the community of disciples evangelize, is to be seen as flowing not only from a hierarchical structure of leadership but primarily from the Spirit of authority and power which was in Jesus. Jesus now gives the mandate to the community of disciples to make disciples.

A servant-Church following the servant-Christ

Another way of seeing the christological affirmation and the ecclesiological affirmation in the gospel of Matthew is in terms of Christ's teaching as regards service. Although Jesus was given all authority by the Father, He remains a servant-Christ. He proved this teaching by the example of giving His life on the Cross for the salvation of all people. It was clear to Jesus that He is to be obedient to the Father even if it means dying on the Cross. From this servant-Christ identity, the vocation and mission of Jesus flows also into the servant-Church identity and each of the faithful's vocation and mission as His disciples - who by each one's baptism, commit themselves to follow Jesus. So, just as Jesus said NO to the Evil One and shunned earthly authority and power, so are all the faithful called to say NO to the Evil One and his temptations to opt for an earthly power just self-serving interests. Just as Jesus performed His public ministry in a spirit of service and charity, so each of the baptized, within their respective communities, are also called to evangelize all peoples in the same spirit of service and charity as Jesus. The servant-Christ commissions a servant-Church: a community of Christ's disciples, making disciples for Christ.