Mt 27.55-28.20 Heil, The Narrative Structure of Matthew 27.55-28.20

8/3/2019 Mt 27.55-28.20 Heil, The Narrative Structure of Matthew 27.55-28.20

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JBL 110/3 (1991)419-438

THE NARRATIVESTRUCTURE OFMATTHEW 27:55-28:20

JOHN PAUL HEILKenrick-Glennon Seminary, St. Louis, MO 63119-4399

This article has a twofold purpose: First, we want to make a newproposal for the narrative structure of scenes that conclude Matthew'sGospel in Matt 27:55-28:20. This will involve the demonstration of howthese scenes are arranged in an interlocking network of literary sandwichesin which each successive scene is contrastinglyframedby two other mutuallyrelated scenes. It will include a new illustration of how these final scenes ofMatthew'sGospel function as a continuous chain which links together theaccounts of the burial and resurrection with that of the death of Jesus ratherthan separates them, as some interpreters maintain.' Second, we want todetermine the significance of this narrative structure in terms of its rhetoricaleffects on the implied reader.This will include an analysisof how this pattern

1 D. Senior, in commenting on Matt 27:55-56 as "aterminal point in the Passion narrative,'states that "a clean break in tempo and content separates the burial account from the previoussequence. ... The burial account itself becomes simply a preparationfor the resurrection motifsthat will dominate the rest of the gospel"(ThePassion NarrativeAccordingto Matthew:A Redac-tional Study [BETL 39; Leuven: Leuven University Press, 1975] 328-29; see also idem, ThePassion of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew [Wilmington, DE: Michael Glazier, 1985] 149-50;idem, "Matthew'sSpecial Materialin the Passion Story:Implications for the Evangelist'sRedac-tional Technique and Theological Perspective:'ETL63 [1987]273 n. 4). While we do not denythat the burial account prepares for the resurrection, we wish to demonstrate the significanceof the fact that it also points back to the death scene (Matt 27:45-54) and serves as an importantlink between Jesus' death and resurrection.C. H. Giblin proposes an expansion of the Matthean resurrection account by including thescenes of Matt 27:57-66 to form a burial-resurrection narrative as the literary unit that con-cludes the Gospel ("Structuraland Thematic Correlations in the Matthean Burial-ResurrectionNarrative[Matt.xxvii. 57-xxviii. 20],"NTS21 [1974-75]406-20). We propose that the literaryunitwhich concludes Matthew also includes the scene of the women's witness of the death of Jesusin Matt 27:55-56. Our position is that the scene of the women witnessing the death of Jesusin 27:55-56 not only concludes the death scene in 27:45-54 but also begins the sequence ofscenes that link together the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus as the conclusion ofMatthew'sGospel. Thus, as we shall argue, 27:55-56 points the reader backward to the deathof Jesus and the previous narrative as well as forward to Jesus' burial and resurrection.

419


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420 Journal of Biblical Literatureof alternation or "interchange,'2n which each scene frames and is in turnframed by contrasting scenes, determines how the implied reader is torespond to and interpret the total progression of events involved in theMatthean presentation of Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection.

I. Narrative Structure of Matt 27:55-28:20We begin with a schematic representation of the network of literarysandwiches formed by the nine scenes in Matt 27:55-28:20:

(1) 27:55-61: Women followers witness Jesus' death and burial.a' 27:55-56 Women from Galilee witness Jesus' death.A b' 27:57-60 A disciple receives the body of Jesus from Pilate,rolls the tomb stone and departs.a2 27:61 Mary Magdalene and the other Mary sit facing thetomb of Jesus.

(2) 27:62-28:4: Jewish leaders try to thwart Jesus' resurrection.b2 27:62-66 Chief priests and Pharisees receive Pilate's permis-sion to seal the stone and guard the tomb.B a3 28:1 Mary Magdalene and the other Mary come to seethe tomb.b3 28:2-4 An angel rolls back the stone and the fearfulguards become as if dead.

(3) 28:5-20: The authority of the risen Jesus prevails.a4 28:5-10 The women are sent to the disciples by the angeland the risen Jesus.A' b4 28:11-15 Chief priests and elders bribe the guards to saythat the disciples stole the body of Jesus.a5 28:16-20 In Galilee the eleven disciples see the risen Jesusand are sent to make disciples of all.

As the above schema illustrates, the nine scenes comprising Matt27:55-28:20 divide themselves into three sets of sandwiches. In the first setthe story of Jesus' burial by Joseph of Arimathea in 27:57-60 is framed2 D. R. Bauer drawsa distinction between "intercalation" s "the insertion of one literaryunitin the midst of another literaryunit (a, b, a)"and "interchange"as "theexchanging or alternationof certain elements (a, b, a, b, a)" (TheStructureof Matthew'sGospel:A Study in LiteraryDesign[JSNTSup31; Sheffield: Almond, 1988] 18). He points out that "interchange is often used tostrengthen contrasts or comparisons."Our proposed narrative structure for Matt 27:55-28:20thus involves both "intercalation"and "interchange."


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Heil: Matthew 27:55-28:20 421between the mutually related scenes of the witness of Jesus'death bywomenfollowers from Galilee including Mary Magdalene and another Mary in27:55-56 and of the witness of Jesus' burial by Mary Magdalene and the"otherMary"n 27:613Literary justification for this sandwich is provided bythe inclusion formed by the nearly identical introductions to the first andthird scenes dealing with the presence of the same women both at Jesus'death and burial. The first scene begins, "There were there (0aa


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422 Journal of Biblical Literaturepriests and elders bribe the soldiers to say that Jesus'"disciples" 28:13) stolehim from the tomb. In the third scene (28:16-20) the eleven "disciples"(28:16)go to Galilee and see the risen Jesus. Furthermore,the first and thirdscenes are related by way of promise and fulfillment. In the first scene boththe angel and the risen Jesus command the women to tell the disciples to go"toGalilee"(28:7, 10),where they "willsee"(28:7, 10)the risen Jesus in fulfill-ment of his previous promise in 26:32. In the third scene what was promisedby these commands of the angel and the risen Jesus is climactically fulfilledas the eleven disciples go "to Galilee"(28:16)and "see" 28:17)the risen Jesus.But the above schema does not exhaust the dynamic pattern of intercala-tions at work in Matt 27:55-28:20. Indeed, the entire pattern of nine scenesoperates as aprogressiveinterchange of a total of seven narrative sandwiches:(1) Matt 27:55-61: a' 27:55-56; bI 27:57-60; a227:61.(2) Matt 27:57-66: bI 27:57-60; a227:61; b2 27:62-66.(3) Matt 27:61-28:1: a227:61; b2 27:62-66; a3 28:1.(4) Matt 27:62-28:4: b2 27:62-66; a328:1; b3 28:2-4.(5) Matt 28:1-10: a328:1; b3 28:2-4; a428:5-10.(6) Matt 28:2-15: b3 28:2-4; a428:5-10; b4 28:11-15.(7) Matt 28:5-20: a428:5-10; b4 28:11-15; a528:16-20.

Now that we have introduced our new proposal for the narrative struc-ture of Matt 27:55-28:20, what is its purpose? What does this sequentialinterchange of contrasting scenes accomplish as it is heard by the Mattheanimplied reader?

II. The Response of the Implied Reader to Matt 27:55-28:20By the "implied reader"we mean the reader or audience that the textpresupposes in order to be actualized as a communicative event; it is "thereader" created by the text in the process of reading or listening to it.5"Reader-response" oncerns the "rhetoricaleffect"that the text produces forits implied reader.6 In accord with this approach, then, we will focus on theresponses of the implied reader as determined by the various presupposi-tions, strategies, and indicators within Matthew'snarrative.More specifically,

5 For more explanation of this type of reader-response criticism, see B. C. Lategan,"Reference:Reception, Redescription and Reality,"n Text and Reality:Aspects of Reference nBiblical Texts(ed. B. C. Lategan and W. S. Vorster;Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1985) 67-75; J. L.Staley,The Print'sFirst Kiss:A RhetoricalInvestigationof the ImpliedReaderin the FourthGospel(SBLDS 82; Atlanta:ScholarsPress, 1988) 21-49; R. W. Funk, The Poeticsof Biblical Narrative(Sonoma, CA: Polebridge, 1988) 34-38; W. S. Vorster,"The Reader in the Text: NarrativeMaterial:' n ReaderPerspectiveson the New Testament(Semeia48; ed. E. V.McKnight;Atlanta:Scholars Press, 1989) 21-39.6 K. A. Plank, Paul and the Irony of Affliction(Atlanta:Scholars Press, 1987) 9.


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Heil: Matthew 27:55-28:20 423we will examine what the alternating sequential and strategic pattern of con-trasting scenes in Matt 27:55-28:20 does to and how it affects its reader oraudience, that is, what this intricate narrative structure of successive inter-calations causes its reader to experience in order to produce the meaninglatent in the text and thus to bring its act of communication to completion7

Matt 27:55-61: Women Followers WitnessJesus'Death and Burial.

a' 27:55-56: Women rom Galilee witness Jesus'death.The scene of the women followers from Galilee witnessing Jesus' deathin 27:55-56 occurs immediately after the reader has experienced thedramatic confession by the centurion and those watching Jesus' death withhim that "truly this was the Son of God!"(27:54). Their confession is thedirect result of their having seen the earthquake and the spectacular "thingsthat happened" (27:54) at the death of Jesus in 27:51-53:Andbehold,the veilof the sanctuarywassplitin two fromtopto bottom.The earthquaked, he rocksweresplit,the tombswereopened,andthebodies of manysaintswho had fallenasleepwereraised.Andcomingoutof thetombsafterhisresurrection,heyentered heholy cityandappearedto many.

The confession of the centurion and those with him indicates to the readertheir remarkable conversion to faith in Jesus from those who had carried outhis crucifixion and mocked him as a powerless "kingof the Jews"(27:27-37).Ironically,these Gentile believers vindicate for the reader Jesus' admissionto the high priest that he is "the Christ, the Son of God" (26:63-64) againstthe mocking taunts of the passers-byand Jewish leaders (27:38-44).8 In fact,this confession of Jesus' divine sonship by the centurion and those with himrepresents the climactic confession of the entire narrative (see 3:17; 14:33;16:16; 17:5; 26:63-64).The presence at Jesus'death of the Jewish women from Galilee comple-ments that of the Gentile centurion and those with him. Whereas the groupof Gentile men represents recent converts to faith in Jesus based on witness-ing his death in Jerusalem, the group of Jewish women, "who had followedJesus from Galilee (27:55b), represents faithful followers of Jesus from theorigin of his ministry. The use of the adverb ixSt, "there," s the women are

7 J.P.Heil, "Reader-Responseand the Ironyof Jesus before the Sanhedrin in Luke 22:66-71,"CBQ 51 (1989) 272.

8 J. Gnilka, Das Matthiiusevangelium:Kommentarzu Kap. 14.1-28,20 und Einleitungsfragen(HTKNT 1/2; Freiburg/Basel/Vienna: Herder, 1988) 478; A. Sand, Das Evangelium nachMatthius (RNT; Regensburg: Pustet, 1986) 566; J. P. Meier, The Vision of Matthew: Christ,Church and Morality in the First Gospel (New York:Paulist, 1979) 205; idem, Matthew (NewTestament Message 3; Wilmington, DE: Michael Glazier, 1980) 352-53.


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424 Journal of Biblical Literatureintroduced in 27:55, "there were there many women... ,"expressly linksthese Jewish women with the Gentile centurion and those with him aswitnesses to Jesus' death? The Jewish women from Galilee thus serve assubstitutes for the male disciples of Jesus, "all"of whom "left him and fled"(26:56b) afterhe was arrested, as he had predicted in fulfillment of the scrip-tures (26:31, 56a). That two of these women, the "mother" of James andJoseph and the "mother"of the sons of Zebedee (27:56), are identified bytheir relation to male characters reminds the reader of the absence of allmale disciples and underlines the women's role as their substitutes. Espe-cially the mention of the mother of the sons of Zebedee, who had earlierproudly asked Jesus to give her sons positions of importance in his kingdom(20:20-21), points up the tragic absence of two of the brothers Jesus firstcalled to be disciples (4:21-22) and key members of his special group ofTwelve (10:2; 17:1;26:37). Ironically,their mother is present while they areabsent. So the reader is assured that despite the absence of all male disciplesfrom Galilee women followers related to them witnessed Jesus' death.'0

Although the presence of the Jewish women complements that of theGentile men, their silence and passivity stand in sharp contrast to theexuberant proclamation of the centurion and those with him. Whereas theGentile men's "seeing"of "the earthquake and the things that happened"produced a confession of Jesus' divine sonship (27:54), the Jewish women'scircumspect "looking on" from a distance reduces them, who had helpfully"ministered" o Jesus while following him from Galilee, to helpless witnesseslooking on in strange silence (27:55). This stark contrast indicates that thisscene of the women's witness (27:55-56) serves not only as the conclusionto the death scene (27:45-54) but also as the beginning of a new tension andsuspense for the reader. Why do these Jewish women, who have witnessedthe same events that resulted in the dramatic confession by the Gentile men,remain silent? What further role will they play in contrast to the centurionand those with him? Because of Jesus' previous predictions of his passion,death, and resurrection "on the third day"(16:21;17:22-23; 20:17-19), andespecially because the resurrection of Jesus has alreadybeen anticipated athis death (27:53), the reader does not expect the narrativeto end with the

9 According to Senior (Passion Narrative, 330 n. 1), "Matthew's&xEtlearly shows that thesilent testimony of the faithful women belongs to the death scene and forms part of thetestimonial conclusion inaugurated in 27:54."10 In Matthew the term "disciple" ~c(tOtij) s reserved for certain male followers of Jesus,so that the women followers function here as substitute disciples (contra D. Patte, The GospelAccording to Matthew: A Structural Commentaryon Matthew's Faith [Philadelphia: Fortress,1987] 391). As J. C. Anderson notes, "the women at the cross and tomb (27:55-56,61; 28:1-10)serve as foils for the disciples and play important roles the disciples should have played....gender seems to prevent their identification as disciples. They are an auxiliarygroup which canconveniently stand in for the disciples" ("Matthew:Gender and Reading:' in The Bible andFeminist Hermeneutics [Semeia28; ed. M. A. Tolbert; Chico, CA: Scholars Press, 1983] 17, 20).


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Heil: Matthew 27:55-28:20 425death scene. As substitute disciples who have witnessed Jesus' dramaticdeath, the Jewish women are uniquely qualified to witness and participatein the events involving Jesus'resurrection. So their silent and passive witnessof Jesus' death has created a new tension the reader expects to be resolved.bl 27:57-60: A disciple receives the body of Jesusfrom Pilate, rolls the tomb stone and departs.

A "richman,' in contrast to the passivity of the "manywomen" (27:55),"came"on the scene in the evening (27:57). Whereas the women are "fromGalilee,"the origin of Jesus' ministry, the rich man named Joseph is "fromArimathea.'In contrast to the women who "hadfollowed"Jesus from Galilee,Joseph, in addition to being rich, "had become a disciple" of Jesus1. ThatJoseph is both a rich man and a disciple strikes the reader as shockinglyincongruous in view of what Jesus had earlier told his disciples in 19:23-24:"AmenI say to you, it will be difficult for a rich man to enter the kingdomof heaven. Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eyeof a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."Nevertheless,that Joseph is a "rich"disciple gives him the status that enables him toperformthe important service of burying Jesus, which neither the other maledisciples who have fled (26:56) nor their substitutes, the women who arehelplessly passive (27:55-56), are in a position to perform. Although thewomen had "ministered"to Jesus while following him from Galilee, it isJoseph who ministers to Jesus by burying him. He performs a service appro-priate to a "disciple,"hat of properly burying his master, as the disciples ofJohn the Baptisthad buried their master (14:12).So, in contrast to the womenwho look on passively as Jesus dies (27:55-56), Joseph personally carries outthe burial of Jesus as he himself wrapped the body in clean linen, laid it inhis own new tomb which he had hewn in the rock, and rolled the huge stoneto close the tomb and complete the burial (27:59-60).The personal activity of Joseph in burying Jesus underlines for the readerthe reality and significance of Jesus' death. By laying Jesus' body in his ownnew "tomb"(tvrlypew)which he had hewn in the "rock"(ierpq) (27:60),Joseph places Jesus in the same realm of the dead from which the manybodies of the "saintswho had fallen asleep"were raised at the death of Jesusin 27:51b-52: "The earth quaked, the rocks (ii7rpat) were split, the tombs(tvrly~ta)were opened, and the bodies of many saints who had fallen asleepwere raised:' The resurrection of these many dead saints is based on theresurrection of Jesus (27:53), who has been buried into the same realm of the

" We agree with the interpretationof 8 xaO(rL So0Jre60LJO (27:57)as meaning that Josephbecame a disciple in addition to being rich, rather than that he became a disciple in additionto the women, who were disciples. See n. 10 above and Anderson, "Matthew," 8-20.


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426 Journal of Biblical Literaturedead. By burying Jesus in a rock-hewn tomb Joseph has thus placed him insolidarity with the many saints who have died. The scene of Jesus'burial byJoseph of Arimathea, then, points the reader not only back to the death scene(27:45-54) to realize the reality and significance of Jesus' death but alsoforwardto the expected resurrection of Jesus, already anticipated (27:53)12a2 27:61:Mary Magdalene and the other Mary sit facingthe tomb of Jesus.The final scene of the first sandwich, Mary Magdalene and the otherMary sitting in front of Jesus' tomb (27:61), not only contrasts the middlescene of the sandwich (27:57-60) but also develops the thematic of theopening scene (27:55-56). Although Joseph admirably performed thereverent service of burying Jesus, after he rolled a huge stone across theentrance of the tomb, "he departed" (27:60).3 Once again the narrative isbereft of male disciples (see 26:56). In contrast to the absence of Joseph andall other male disciples, women from Galilee remain present at the tomb tofunction once again as substitute disciples. They are "sitting" here facing the"tomb"(t&cpou, 7:61),14 the locus of the expected resurrection of Jesus(27:53) "on the third day,"as he had predicted to his disciples (16:21;17:22-23; 20:17-19).The scene of MaryMagdalene and the other Mary sitting opposite Jesus'tomb also advances the motif of the silent and passive presence of the womentoward the death of Jesus in the first scene of this sandwich (27:55-56). Butnow there has been a narrowingof the "manywomen"to only the two named"Mary."Whereas "there were there many women" as witnesses to the death(27:55), "there was there Mary Magdalene and the other Mary"as witnesses

12 The burial scene (27:57-60) is not "simply a preparation"for the resurrection (contraSenior,PassionNarrative,329) nor the beginning of a "burial-resurrection" nit which concludesthe Gospel (contra Giblin, "Structural and Thematic Correlations,"406-20) but a link whichconnects Jesus' death to his resurrection in the death-burial-resurrection unit that concludesthe Gospel; see n. 1 above.13 A literary criterion that justifies treating 27:57-60 as a scene in itself and separate from27:61 is provided by the inclusion formed by the explicit notices of Joseph'sentrance into andexit from the narrative:he "came" n 27:57 and he "departed" n 27:60. See also n. 3 above.The explicit notice of Joseph's "departure"rom the burial scene is a distinctive Mattheanfeature in contrast to the Marcan(15:42-47) and Lucan (23:50-56) versions of the same account.14 Matt 27:61 begins a noteworthy shift in the Greek terms used to express "tomb" n theevents concluding the Gospel. In 27:60 Joseph laid Jesus'body in his new "tomb,'tivrt~kl, androlled a hugh stone across the entrance of the "tomb,'1~trvndou,but in 27:61 the women sitfacing the "tomb,'"dpou.Although the terms gyvlnueov nd r&xqocppear to be synonymouswords for "tomb" n the previous narrative(see 23:29), they seem to have distinctive functionsin the account of the death-burial-resurrection. When the focus is away from "tombs,'boththose of the "saints"(27:52-53) and that of Jesus (27:60; 28:8), the word tvljt~tov is employed,but when the focus is concentrated toward the "tomb"of Jesus as the locus of his anticipatedresurrection (27:61, 64, 66; 28:1), the term r&qogs used.


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Heil: Matthew 27:55-28:20 427to Jesus'burial (27:61). These two women named Mary (the "otherMary" sthe mother of James and Joseph, 27:56) are no longer described in relationto male characters.'5They function not only as substitutes for absent maledisciples but also as faithful witnesses to the death and burial of Jesus in theirown right. They assure the reader of a continuity of reliable witnesses to boththe death and burial of Jesus.The silent and passive posture of the two Marys, "sittingin front of thetomb,' reminds the reader of the similar posture of the soldiers in theprevious narrative. After the soldiers had crucified Jesus (27:35), they "satdown" and "keptwatch over him there"(27:36). This vigilant "sitting"of thesoldiers before the crucified Jesus placed them in a position to witness themarvelous events that happened upon his death (27:50-53), which led totheir confession of his divine sonship (27:54). Similarly,the vigilant "sitting"of the two women before the tomb of Jesus places them in a position to bewitnesses of the anticipated resurrection of Jesus (27:53). The "sitting"ofthese two women in front of Jesus' tomb continues the aura of expectancyarousedby the silence and passivity of the women as they viewed Jesus'death(27:55-56). Prepared by the dramatic outcome of the soldiers' expectant "sit-ting,"'he similar expectant "sitting"of the women alerts the reader to thesignificantrole these women will play,as faithful witnesses to both the deathand burial of Jesus, in the expected narration of Jesus' resurrection.

Matt 27:62-28:4: Jewish Leaders Tryto ThwartJesus'Resurrectionb2 27:62-66: Chief priests and Pharisees receivePilate'spermission to seal the stone and guard the tomb.

The reception by the chief priests and Pharisees of Pilate'spermissionto seal the stone and guard the tomb of Jesus (27:62-66) not only contrastswith the previous scene of the two women sitting at the tomb (27:61)but alsodevelops the theme of authority over the dead body of Jesus, which wasintroduced by the scene of his burial (27:57-60). The negative posture takenby the Jewish leaders toward the "tomb"of Jesus conflicts with the positiveposture of the faithful women towardthe "tomb"'Whereas the chief priestsand Pharisees, after recalling Jesus' prediction of resurrection after "threedays" 27:63) and receiving Pilate'spermission to secure the "tomb"until the"thirdday"(27:64),16 attempt to prevent a fraudulent proclamation of Jesus'15 The "mother"of the "sonsof Zebedee"(27:56), two male disciples, is no longer mentioned.16 "Pharisees" were present when Jesus indirectly referred to his resurrection through the

"signof Jonah,'who was in the belly of the whale for "threedaysand three nights"before beingrescued, just as Jesus will be in the heart of the earth for "three days and three nights"beforebeing raised (12:38-40).


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428 Journal of Biblical Literatureresurrection by securing the "tomb" gainst theft (27:66), the faithfulwomensit in front of the "tomb"(27:61),properly positioned to witness the fulfillmentof Jesus'promise of resurrection "on the third day"(16:21;17:22-23; 20:17-19). Furthermore,the Jewishleaders'alarming conjecture that "hisdisciples"may steal the body of Jesus from the tomb in order to proclaim a false resur-rection (27:64) rings ridiculous for the reader, who knows of the totalabandonment (26:56) and departure(27:60) of all the disciples as well as thenotable passivity of their female substitutes (27:55-56, 61).But the scene of the chief priests and Pharisees receiving Pilate'sper-mission to guard the tomb also advances the theme of true authorityoverthedead body of Jesus begun in the scene of his burial (27:57-60). First of all,the notice that the burial took place on the "evening"of the day of Jesus'death (27:57) progresses to the notice that it is now the "next day,which isafter the (day of) preparation" 27:62). This unusual way of referring to thesabbath as the day "after" he "dayof preparation"serves to mark the secondday in the three-day period that will take place between the death and thepredicted resurrection of Jesus "on he third day" 16:21;17:22-23; 20:17-19).The reader may also perceive a deeper meaning in this subtle reference tothe day of Jesus' burial as the day of "preparation:'namely, that Jesus'burialis the necessary "preparation"orhis expected resurrection"onthe thirdday"after his death.

Before Joseph buried Jesus, he received Pilate's official authorization totake the body, as "Pilate ordered it to be handed over"(27:58). Similarly, heJewish leaders ask for Pilate to exercise his authority to "order the tomb tobe secured until the third day"(27:64) so as to prevent the fraudulent fulfill-ment of the promise of "thisimpostor"that "after hree days I will be raisedup"(27:63) through the theft of his body by his disciples (27:64). AlthoughPilate grants the Jewish leaders authorization to guard the tomb, he does soin a skeptical way (27:65). While Pilate had the legitimate authority to grantthe dead body of Jesus to Joseph for burial, he does not have the authorityto guarantee the Jewish leaders the prevention of Jesus'resurrection. Pilate'sdisassociation of himself from the futile attempt of the Jewish leaders isgrammatically indicated by his use of the middle voice in the imperative&aacporiao which means "secure" t (the tomb) with the connotation of"yourself"or "inyour own interests"r'7His disassociation from their dubiousendeavor is further underlined by his additional words, "asyou know how"or "asbest you can"(wc ol'8e) to his granting the Jewish leaders a guard tosecure the tomb (27:65). As Pilate had earlier separated himself from guiltfor the death of the innocent Jesus so that it fell upon the Jewish peopleswayed by their leaders (27:24-25), so now he separateshimself fromthe vain

'7 M. Zerwick and M. Grosvenor,A GrammaticalAnalysisof the Greek New Testament(Rome:Biblical Institute Press, 1974) 1. 97.


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Heil: Matthew 27:55-28:20 429attempt of the Jewish leaders. They must accept the responsibility and usetheir own "authority" or their foolish scheme to thwart Jesus' resurrection.There is a further notable progression from the burial scene. AfterJoseph laid the body of Jesus in his rock-hewn tomb, he closed and securedthe tomb by rolling a huge "stone"across the entrance (27:60). Now theJewish leaders want to reinforce this burial in their design to prevent Jesus'resurrection, as they themselves seal the "stone"with the guard granted byPilate (27:66). So a conflict involving authority has emerged for the reader,namely, the dubious authority of the Jewish leaders to prevent Jesus' resur-rection versus the reliable authority of Jesus' promise and God's power toraise him from the dead (27:63).

a3 28:1: Mary Magdalene and the other Marycome to see the tomb.

The coming of Mary Magdalene and the other Maryto see Jesus' tomb(28:1) not only stands in contrast to the sealing of the tomb with a guard(27:62-66) but also advances the theme of these two women'sfaithfulwitnessof Jesus' burial (27:61). In contrast to the chief priests and Pharisees, whosecured Jesus'tomb (27:66) on "the next day"(27:62), that is, the second dayafter his death and burial, in order to prevent his resurrection "onthe thirdday"(27:63-64), the two Maryscome to see the tomb "after he sabbath, asthe firstdayof the week was dawning" 28:1),that is, on the crucial "thirdday"after Jesus' death and burial, the day of his promised resurrection (16:21;17:22-23; 20:17-19). The Jewish leaders "went"and secured the tomb bysealing the stone with the guard (27:66), thus employing their authority inan attempt to prevent Jesus' resurrection. But the faithful women "came"merely to "see" the tomb (28:1), thus placing themselves in a position towitness the revelation of Jesus'promised resurrection through God'spower.For the reader,then, the two faithful Marys provide a positive model in con-trast to the negative model of the faithless Jewish leaders' futilely forcefulattempt to prevent Jesus' resurrection from his tomb.But MaryMagdalene and the other Marycoming to see the tomb (28:1)also develops their passive sitting in front of the tomb (27:61).First, that thetwo Marys explicitly "came" o see the "tomb"marks a progression to a moreactive posture from their previous posture of "sitting"before the tomb.Second, that they came precisely to "see"the tomb indicates their role aspotential witnesses of the expected resurrection of Jesus. This is the third inthe series of "a"scenes portraying the faithful presence and witness ofGalilean women as substitutes for the absent disciples. This sequence ofscenes assures the reader that there were reliable and continuous witnessesfrom Galilee not only to Jesus'death (27:55-56) but also to his burial (27:61),


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430 Journal of Biblical Literaturewhich enabled them to become reliable witnesses at the tomb (28:1)to therevelation of his resurrection "on the third day"after his death and burial.

bP28:2-4: An angel rolls back the stone andthefearful guards become as if dead.The angel's removal of the stone fromthe tomb so that the fearfulguardsbecome as if dead (28:2-4) not only contrastswith the two Marys'visit of thetomb (28:1), but also develops the theme of authority over the dead body ofJesus in the scene of the tomb being sealed by the Jewish leaders with aguard (27:62-66). In striking contrast to the two Marys,whose coming "tosee the tomb"(28:1)placed them in a proper position to reliablywitness whathappens at the tomb, the guards, whom the Jewish leaders have placed in thenegative position of sealing the stone of the tomb in an effort to block Jesus'resurrection (27:66), are "shakenwith fear"and "become as if dead"(28:4)when an angel spectacularlyrolls back the stone of the tomb they are guard-ing (28:2). Ironically,those guardingJesus'tomb to prevent the proclamationthat "he has been raised from the dead" (27:64) themselves become "asifdead:' So, the fearful and deadlike posture of those who were guarding thetomb contrasts with the posture of the women who have come not to guardbut simply to "see"the tomb.But the angel rollingback the stone so that the guardsbecome as if dead

(28:2-4) also advances the theme of the Jewish leaders'dubious authority toseal the tomb against the resurrection of Jesus (27:62-66). In a dramaticreversal not only of Joseph's burial of Jesus in the first "b"scene when herolled a huge stone across the entrance of the tomb (27:60) but also of theJewish leaders' sealing of the stone with the guard in the second "b" cene(27:66), an "angelof the Lord"came down from heaven and "rolled back"thestone in this third "b" cene (28:2). The angel then "satupon it" (28:2), thusillustrating the triumph of God's power over the stone sealed by the futile,human power of the Jewish leaders to keep Jesus' tomb closed.'8 That anearthquake (see also 27:51)accompanied the descent of the angel (28:2) andthat his "appearancewas like lightning"and his "clothingwas white as snow"(28:3; cf. 17:2) emphatically underline the awesome character of the angelas an agent of God. As the guards of the tomb are then overwhelmed withfear and become "as f dead" in response to the angel of the Lord (28:4), thereader begins to realize the vast superiority of God'spower to overcome anyauthority that would prevent the proclamation of Jesus' resurrection.

18 That the "seating" mage of the angel who "satupon it (the stone)"(Ix&o0riot&v aMroG,28:2) indicates God's total power over the "stone"of the tomb is enhanced by the similar useof this image to express God's sovereign rule in the words of Jesus in 23:22: "One who swearsby heaven swearsby the throne of God and by him who is seated on it"(xa0t71tOvn&vcoccroG).


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Heil: Matthew 27:55-28:20 431Matt 28:5-20: The Authority

of the RisenJesus Prevailsa4 28:5-10: The women are sent to the disciplesby the angel and the risen Jesus.The commissioning of the women by the angel and the risen Jesus(28:5-10) not only contrasts with the fearful stupor of the guards when theangel rolls back the stone of the tomb (28:2-4) but also advances the themeof the women's faithfulpresence and witness in the scene of their coming tosee the tomb (28:1). In direct contrast to the guards, who were shakenbecause of fear of the angel (28:4), the same angel assures the women, "Youneed not be afraid:'with the explicit expression of the personal pronoun"you"(t67tZ)emphasizing the contrast between the women and the guards(28:5). The women need not be afraid because the angel, in his divineauthority,"knows" hat they are"seeking Jesus the crucified one"(28:5). Thatthe women are seeking Jesus as "the one who has been and still is (they think)crucified"(karoupwcovov,erfect tense), then, privileges them to receive theangel's revelation that Jesus is no longer crucified but has been raised fromthe dead (28:6-7), whereas the guards, who have been stationed at the tombby the Jewish leaders to keep Jesus as the "crucifiedone" within the realmof the dead (27:63-66), themselves become "asif dead" before God's angel(28:4). This contrast thus leads the reader to view the women as speciallyauthorized witnesses of the message of Jesus' resurrection over and againstthe "deadlike"guards.This fourth"a"cene (28:5-10) stands in contrast not only to the previousthird "b"scene (28:2-4) but also to the second "b"scene (27:62-66). Theangel's divine revelation to the women that Jesus has been raised "justas hesaid"(28:6) refutes the Jewish leaders'designation of Jesus as "thisimpostor"because "he said" while still alive that "afterthree days I will be raised up"(27:63). That Jesus has been raised "justas he said" vindicates him againstthe charge that he is an "impostor"who falsely "said"he would be raised.Furthermore, the authoritative telling of the message of the resurrection byJesus, the angel, and the women contradicts the ridiculous conjecture of thechief priests and Pharisees that the proclamation of Jesus'resurrectionwouldbe based on a fraudulent telling of it by the disciples who stole the body(27:64). The women's commission to "tell" he disciples the message that "hehas been raised from the dead" (28:7) reveals as false the Jewish leaders'charge that the disciples would deceptively "tell" the people that "he hasbeen raised from the dead;' after they have stolen the body (27:64). Thewomen's "telling"is based on the divine authority of the angel's "telling"("behold, I have told you,' 28:7), which in turn has confirmed the authorityof Jesus' "telling"of his resurrection ("he has been raised just as he said',"28:6). This powerful contradiction equips the reader with the truth of the


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432 Journal of Biblical Literaturedisciples' reception of the women's divinely authorized and previouslypromised message of Jesus'resurrection in order to overcome the false claimthat the message of Jesus' resurrection originated from deception.But the women's being sent to the disciples by the angel and the risenJesus (28:5-10) also develops the scene of the women coming to see the tomb(28:1). The angel's making known that the women are "seeking Jesus thecrucified one" (28:5) develops the motivation for their coming to see thetomb (28:1). That the women are seeking the crucified one recalls thewomen's witnessing of Jesus' death by crucifixion in the first "a"scene(27:55-56), furtherindicating that it is their witnessing of the realityofJesus'death and burial (27:61) that qualifies them to be reliable witnesses of themessage of Jesus' resurrection.9 The angel's invitation for the women to"come and see the place where he lay"(28:6) transforms the focus of theircoming to see the tomb (28:1). The women who have "come"expressly "tosee" the tomb of the crucified Jesus are now beckoned by God's angel to"come"and "see" hat the tomb is now empty, as proof that the crucified one"is not here" but "has been raised just as he said"(28:6).Furthermore,the tension that was aroused by the passivityof the womenat Jesus' death (27:55-56) and burial (27:61), and that began to receiveresolution in the active "coming"of the women to see the tomb (28:1), s nowfurther resolved and transformed. The angel commissions the women withthe divinely authorized activity of "going"and "telling"the disciples thatJesus "has been raised from the dead" and that, in fulfillment of his previouspromise (26:32), he is going before them to Galilee where they will see him(28:7). As substitutes for the disciples who have been absent, the faithfulGalilean women serve as the reliable intermediaries who are to link thedisciples with the realityof Jesus'death, burial, and resurrection.Empoweredby the divine authority of the angel, the previously passive women activelybegin to fulfill their role as authentic messengers of Jesus'resurrection to hisdisciples. Quickly "goingaway" rom the tomb,20with fear and great joy thewomen "ran to announce" the angel's message to the disciples (28:8).When the risen Jesus encounters the women on their way to thedisciples, the earlier tension involving the women's lack of response to thedeath of Jesus (27:55-56), which stood in sharp contrast to the confession ofhis divine sonship by the centurion and those with him (27:54), is dramati-cally resolved. After the women are greeted by the risen Jesus, they

19 We consider the angel'sdisclosure that the women are seeking Jesus whom they have seen"crucified"(28:5) as further evidence for the importance of viewing the scene of the women'switness of Jesus' death (27:55-56) as the beginning of the death-burial-resurrection sequencewhich concludes the Gospel, rather than viewing the conclusion as beginning with the burialaccount (27:57-60), as proposed by Giblin ("Structuraland Thematic Correlations:'406-20).20 Now that the narrative focus is once again awayfrom the "tomb" he word tv-lwteovs againused for "tomb"(see also 27:52-53, 60) in contrast to the term r&cpo;, sed when the focus istoward the tomb (27:61, 64, 66; 28:1);see n. 14 above.


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Heil: Matthew 27:55-28:20 433"approached, embraced his feet and worshiped him" (28:9). The earlierexuberant confession by the newly converted Gentile soldiers that the deadJesus "was truly the Son of God" (27:54) is now complemented by thisreverenthomage towardJesus on the part of these longtime Jewish followers,the Galilean women, who have patiently witnessed not only the death butalso the burial, angel of the Lord, empty tomb, and now the risen Jesushimself.

After eliminating their fear, the risen Jesus reinforces the commissionof these faithful women followers to direct the disciples, as "mybrothers,:back to Galilee in order to see him (28:10). That Jesus refers to his disciplesas "mybrothers"underlines the important role the faithful women are to playin the reconciliation of the absent disciples to their "brotherly" ellowshipwith Jesus in Galilee. So the women assure the reader not only of the reliabletransmission of the true message of Jesus'resurrection to his absent disciplesbut also of their reunion with their risen master.b4 28:11-15: Chief priests and elders bribe the guardsto say that the disciples stole the body of Jesus.

The bribing of the guards by the chief priests and elders to say that thedisciples stole the body of Jesus (28:11-15)not only contradicts the women'scommissioning by the angel and the risen Jesus (28:5-10), but also developsthe theme of the futile attempt of the Jewish leaders to prevent the proclama-tion of Jesus'resurrection (28:2-4). In contrast to the women, who are nowon their way(28:11a) o "report"28:8, 10) to the disciples that Jesus has beenraised and that they are to go "to Galilee"to see him, some of the guard whowere at the tomb (see 27:66) went "intothe city"and "reported" o the chiefpriests all that had happened (28:11).The focus "to Galilee"(28:8, 10) as theplace for the disciples to see and be reconciled with the risen Jesus is nowcontrasted with a focus "into the city"(28:11)of Jerusalem,where the Jewishleaders plan to prevent the proclamation of Jesus' resurrection. The "report-ing"of Jesus'resurrection by the women commissioned by the angel and therisen Jesus (28:5-10) now serves as a foil for the "reporting"of "allthat hadhappened"by the guards to those who had commissioned them to guard thetomb to prevent the proclamation of Jesus' resurrection.After the chief priests have heard the report by the guard of"all that hadhappened" (28:11), they take counsel with the elders, and through briberycommission the soldiers to "tell"that his disciples stole the body of Jesusfrom the tomb (28:12-13). This deceitful commissioning by the Jewishleaders clearly contradicts the angel's commissioning of the women to "tell"the disciples the message of Jesus' resurrection (28:7). For the reader,how-ever, who knows that the disciples have been absent throughout the eventsofJesus'death and burial, so that they must be informed by the women about


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434 Journal of Biblical Literaturehis resurrection (28:8-1a), the Jewishleaders' commissioning of the soldierswith a counter interpretation of the empty tomb emerges as an absurdity.But the "b"scene of the chief priests and elders bribing the guards tosay that the disciples stole the body of Jesus (28:11-15) also advances thetheme of the futile attempt of the Jewish leaders to prevent the proclamationof Jesus' resurrection in the previous "b"scene involving the guards of thetomb (28:2-4). After the chief priests learned from the reporting of "allthathad happened" by some of the guard of the tomb (28:11)that their attemptto block the resurrection of Jesus by sealing the tomb had been thwarted(27:66), they conferred with the elders (28:12) and concocted a false inter-pretation of the empty tomb. Through bribery the Jewish leaders persuadedthe soldiers to distort the truth of "all hat had happened" in the event reveal-ing the empty tomb (28:2-4) into a blatant lie. Their deceitful urging of thesoldiers to say that the disciples stole Jesus from the tomb "while we wereasleep"(28:13) defiantly contradicts the truth known by the reader,namely,that those guarding the tomb had actually become "as f dead,' shakenbyfearof the angel who revealed the tomb as empty (28:4).Ironically, the Jewish leaders, who were earlier trying to prevent adeceptive proclamation of the resurrection based on the promise of Jesus asthis "deceiver"(27:63) in the "b" cene of 27:62-66, now become perpetratorsof the very deception they were attempting to avert! Their concern to avoidthe deception of the disciples stealing Jesus from the tomb and proclaiminga false message of his resurrection (27:64) now becomes their own deception,as they arrangefor the fraudulent proclamation of the disciples' theft ofJesus'body (28:13). They feared that "this last deception" (Td&vrl)f a false procla-mation of Jesus'resurrection by his disciples "wouldbe worse than the first"(27:64), the deception of the prediction of it by this "deceiver"(r&,voq,27:63). But the reader now experiences the ironic reversal that this last"deception"by the Jewish leaders involving their own false interpretationofJesus' resurrection is worse than their own first "deception"(865Xo,26:4) inputting him to death.The Jewish leaders add to the shame of their deceit as they accept fullresponsibility for it. They assure the soldiers that they will persuade theRoman governor to keep them out of trouble (28:14). The bribed soldiers,then, emerge as indoctrinated puppets of the deceitful Jewish authorities,who are ultimately responsible for the tragedy of "thisstory,"he false inter-pretation of Jesus' resurrection, being circulated among the Jews until thepresent day(28:15).So the reader must now reckonwith the tragic deception"until the present day"of this counter proclamation of Jesus' resurrection,knowing that it is based upon the absurdity of the theft of Jesus by thedisciples who have been absent throughout and who themselves learn of theresurrection only through the women.


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Heil: Matthew 27:55-28:20 435a5 28:16-20: In Galilee the eleven disciples seethe risen Jesus and are sent to make disciples of all peoples.

The commissioning of the eleven disciples by the risen Jesus to makedisciples of all peoples (28:16-20) not only contrasts with the bribing of thesoldiers by the Jewish leaders to say that the disciples stole Jesus' body(28:11-15) but also develops the theme of the reliable witnessing of thewomen (28:5-10).2? n contradiction to the Jewishleaders'allegation that "hisdisciples" came and stole Jesus' body from the tomb (28:13), the "elevendisciples" actually "went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus hadordered them"(28:16).22 Subordinate to the authentic authority of Jesus, theeleven disciples, who returned "to Galilee"precisely "to the mountain"towhich Jesus had "ordered" hem, stand in contrast to "some of the guard,'who returned "tothe city"of Jerusalemto report on the tomb as subordinatesto the deceitful authority of the Jewish leaders (28:11).

That "some"23 f the disciples "doubted"when they "saw"and "wor-shiped"the risen Jesus (28:17) expresses the attitude of "little faith"(6Xty6-ntl-roq,6:30; 8:26; 14:31; 16:8; 17:20) which characterizes the disciples inMatthew, and which is oriented to an increase in faith through a deeperexperience of Jesus'divine power?4This salutary"doubt"on the part of someof the disciples before the risen Jesus sharplycontrasts the lack of any suchdoubt regardingthe spreadingof a false interpretationof the empty tomb onthe part of the faithless characters in the previous scene (28:11-15). The"Jews" mong whom the false storyabout the empty tomb has circulated untilthe present day (28:15)apparently do not question its obvious contradiction,that if the soldiers were asleep when the disciples stole the body (28:13),how

21 Matt 28:16-20 is often and rightly considered to be the climactic scene which is signifi-cantly related to the broader narrativeof the entire Gospel (see, e.g., Bauer, Matthew'sGospel,109-28). Without intending to denigrate this important feature, we wish to draw attention tothe relatively neglected feature of how closely this scene is also connected to its more imme-diate narrative context as the climactic conclusion of the Matthean death-burial-resurrectionsequence.22 The mention of "eleven"disciples recalls the defection of Judas,one of the "Twelve"10:1-4;26:14, 47), whose betrayal of Jesus (26:14-16, 20-25, 46-50; 27:3-10) was part of the Jewishleaders' "deceit"in putting Jesus to death (26:4).

23 On the controversyof whether to translate oB8e in 28:17 as "all" r "some"of the disciples,we follow the reasoning of P.W van der Horst, who translates:"When they saw him, they wor-shipped him, but some of them doubted" ("Once More: The Translation of o0 84 in Matthew28.17," SNT 27 [1986] 27-30).

24 The same verb for "doubt"(st=6t4o) is closely combined with the theme of "little faith"in Jesus' question to Peter in 14:31,after he failed to walk across the water:"Oman of little faith(6XL61~Last),hy did you doubt (18Lt=aoc;)?"eter's "little faith"and "doubt"afforded him adeeper experience of Jesus' absolute power to save,calling him to a greater faith. See J. P. Heil,Jesus Walkingon the Sea: Meaningand Gospel Functions of Matt 14:22-33, Mark 6:45-52 andJohn 6:15b-21 (AnBib 87; Rome: Biblical Institute Press, 1981) 63-64.


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436 Journal of Biblical Literaturecould they know it? Despite the thwarting by a superior power of theirattempt to keep the tomb closed (27:66; 28:2-4, 11),the Jewish leaders donot hesitate to continue to oppose this power by devising a further deceptionagainst the resurrection (28:12-14). The soldiers, although they were presentat the dramatic opening of the empty tomb by the angel (28:2-4), demon-strate no doubt in accepting the bribe and instructions of the Jewish leadersto undermine the proclamation of Jesus' resurrection (28:12-15a).That Jesus "hasbeen given"by God (divine passive)"allpower/authority"(nra ouaoC)n heaven and on earth (28:18) surpasses the power of themoney the Jewish leaders "gave"o the soldiers as a bribe, authorizing themto spread a false proclamation against Jesus' resurrection (28:12-13). Like-wise, the share in this absolute authority that the disciples receive as Jesusempowers them "tomake disciples of all peoples" by baptizing and teaching(28:19-20) far exceeds the authority the soldiers receive from the Jewishleaders to prevent the making of disciples of the risen Jesus when they taketheir money (28:15a).The universalauthoritywith which Jesus empowers hisdisciples to make disciples of "allpeoples" (28:19) counters, embraces, andexceeds the limited authority of the Jewish leaders to circulate the false storyregardingJesus' resurrection only "amongthe Jews"(28:15).25The universal"teaching"by the disciples to "all" eoples of "all" hat Jesus had commandedthem (28:20) overpowersthe deceitful "teaching"of the bribed soldiers,whodid as they were "taught"by the Jewish leaders (28:15). Jesus' authoritativepromise of abiding presence andprotection of his disciples throughhis words"Behold, I am with you all days until the end of the age"(28:20) excels theJewish leaders' limited promise to protect the bribed soldiers from theRomangovernor (28:14). Finally,Jesus'powerful promise to remain with hisdisciples "alldays"until the end of the age (28:20) transcends the circulationamong the Jews of the false storyabout the risen Jesus "until the present day"(28:15).Through the progressive experience of all of these contrasts, then, thereader,in identifying with the disciples, is called to an authentic faith in theabsolute authority of the risen Jesus. Through this faith the reader isempowered with the superior authority of the risen Jesus to prevail effec-tively over the inferior,fraudulent authority that would prevent belief in therisen Jesus. With Jesus' promise of his abiding authority the reader isequipped to predominate for "alldays until the end of the age"(28:20) overthe unbelief that persists only "until the present day"(28:15). The reader isthus invited to complete the disciples' mission to make disciples of allpeoples (28:19) in order ultimately to eliminate the unbelief based on thefalse story of Jesus' resurrection circulated among the Jews (28:15).

25 We understand "all peoples" (n&vtoc& Ovl) o include the Jewish people; see Meier,Matthew, 371.


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Heil: Matthew 27:55-28:20 437But the eleven disciples being commissioned by the risen Jesus to make

disciples of all peoples (28:16-20) also advances the theme of faithfulwitnessing of the women being sent to the disciples by the angel and therisen Jesus (28:5-10). That the eleven disciples went "to Galilee" (28:16)fulfills the instructions given the women by both the angel andJesus that thedisciples were to go "to Galilee"(28:7, 10) in order to see and be reconciledwith the risen Jesus, as he had promised (26:32). The women, as substitutesfor the disciples, have successfully executed their role of linking the absentdisciples to the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.The return of the disciples to Galilee indicates their reconciliation totheir master as his "brothers"(28:10), after they had been absent (26:31, 56)throughout the events of his death and burial. When the disciples "saw" herisen Jesus on the mountain in Galilee (28:17), the promise by both the angeland Jesus that they would "see"(28:7, 10) him there is fulfilled. That thedisciples "worshiped"the risen Jesus when they saw him (28:17) comple-ments the women, who likewise "worshiped"him when he met them (28:9).But the commission of the risen Jesus to the disciples farexpands that giventhe women. Whereas he commanded the women to direct the disciples toGalilee to see him and thus serve as the connecting link between them andhis death, burial, and resurrection, he now commands the disciples to makedisciples of all peoples (28:19) by baptizing and teaching them all he taught(28:20), so that they are empowered to serve as the authoritative linkbetween all peoples and the teaching, death, burial, and resurrection ofJesus.Because the witness of the women has linked the disciples to the deathof Jesus (27:55-56), the universal mission of the disciples to make discipleswill expand to "allpeoples" the climactic confession of faith in Jesus' divinesonship by the Gentile soldiers (27:54).This climactic "a"cene, then, assures the reader of a reliable connectionfromthe Gentiles' confession of faithat the death of Jesus (27:54) to the wor-ship of the women (28:9) and of the disciples (28:17) to the making of allpeoples into believing disciples of the risen Jesus (28:19). Through this com-pleted sequence of"a" cenes (27:55-56, 61; 28:1, 5-10, 16-20) the reader hasexperienced a progressive witnessing to the events of Jesus' death, burial,empty tomb, and resurrection, which culminates in authentic faith in thedivine authority of the Jesus who was crucified but is now risen. Through thisfaith the reader is empowered by the risen Jesus to continue the universalmission of the disciples to make disciples of all peoples.

III. ConclusionWe have attempted to demonstrate the significant narrative function ofMatthew'sdeath-burial-resurrectionsequence by considering its rhetoricaleffect on the implied reader. This final set of scenes takes the reader through


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438 Journal of Biblical Literaturea progressive interchange of sharplyopposing themes. Through the progres-sion of"a" cenes (27:55-56, 61; 28:1, 5-10, 16-20) the reader experiences thecontinuity of reliable witnesses from the death to the resurrection of Jesus,culminating in authentic faith in and empowerment by the risen Lord. Butthrough the alternating progression of"b"scenes (27:57-60, 62-66; 28:2-4,11-15) the reader experiences the contrasting constancy of futile andfraudulent attempts to prevent faith in the risen Jesus.The positive experience of the "a" cenes guides and equips the readerto confront and overcome the negative experience of the "b" cenes. In orderto prevailover the giving and receiving of powerless and fraudulent authorityby those who would prevent faith in and proclamation of the risen Jesus, thereader,after being brought to authentic faith in the crucified but now risenJesus, is invited to receive and give the true and powerful authority of therisen Jesus to all peoples. With the promise of the risen Jesus' authoritativepower and presence "forall days until the end of the age"(28:20) the readeris equipped to eliminate the continuing lack of faith based on futile powerand fraudulent authority "until the present day"(28:15).

Documents

Mt 27.55-28.20 Heil, The Narrative Structure of Matthew 27.55-28.20