Holy Trinity: Exegetical Notes on Matthew 28:16-20

The assigned Sunday lessons from now until November 23 will come from
the Gospel of Matthew.

I will offer some exegetical notes on the text, then some comments and
quotes about the Trinity.

THE CONTEXT -- WHY DO WE WITNESS & WHAT IS OUR WITNESS

When our text is viewed within the context of ch. 28, significant word
connections and contrasts can be discovered. I will try to make the
connections with English translations rather than including a bunch of
Greek words, which you can look up of you so desire.

At the empty tomb, the two Marys are told to "go and say" to the
disciples (v. 7). They run to "report" to the disciples (v. 8). On
their way, they are encountered by the risen Jesus, whom they
"worship" (v. 9). He repeats the angel's command (although with
different words), "depart and report". They must have carried out the
command because the disciples are on the mountain in Galilee in our
text.

While the women are "going," the guard who had also been at the tomb
(and seen and heard the same things?), "report" to the chief priests
everything that had happened. He and other soldiers are bribed to
"say" .... After taking the money, they do as they had been "taught".
This _logos_ was that the disciples had come at night and stolen the
body was spread widely among the Jews.

Two widely different stories emerged from the empty tomb event. One
motivated by obedience to the command of the angel and Jesus. The
other motivated by money, self-protection, and in obedience to the
priests' plan. One reports the promises of God. The other the reports
human schemes and lies.

I think that these stories should be read in conjunction with our
text. Too often I've found that congregations emphasize the need to go
and make disciples because they need more money and self-preservation.
If they don't get more money, they might die. In contrast, the women
"go" because of the command of the angel and Jesus. The eleven "go" to
the mountain because of the women's message. We all are to "go"
because Jesus told us to -- not because of what we or our church might
get from it.

These contextual stories also indicate the need for clarity about the
"what" of our witness. Are we conveying the promises of God or
wonderful human plans?

DISSECTING THE TEXT

The mention of the *eleven* disciples is a reminder of the
imperfection of the disciples. Judas, who betrayed Jesus, hanged
himself (27:5).

MOUNTAIN (_oros_), while many commentators talk about the importance
of "mountain" for Jesus in Matthew -- a place of temptation (4:8); a
place of teaching (5:1; 8:1; 24:3); a place of prayer (14:23); a place
of healings (15:29); the place of transfiguration (17:1, 9) -- I
wonder if they have overlooked a couple references of "mountain"
perhaps being the church.

You are the light of the world. A city is not able to be hid which is lying on a *mountain*. (5:14)

What do you think? If a shepherd has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the *mountains* and go in search of the one that went astray? (18:12 -- in Luke 15:4 the 99 are left in the "wilderness")

Could "mountain" not only refer to a place, but a symbol for the
church community -- the 99 who are gathered together? the community
whose "glowing" witness cannot be hid from the world? the people who
obey Jesus' command (conveyed by the women) to meet Jesus in Galilee?

It is on the mountain (in the community?) they see the risen Jesus.
There they worship the risen Jesus and they doubt.

Who doubts? Most English translations render v. 17: "When they saw
him, they worshiped him; but some doubted" (NRSV).

However, the word "some" doesn't occur in the text. The little Greek
word de is often translated "but," but it can also mean "and". With
this understanding, the verse could be translated: "And seeing him
they worshiped and they doubted."

Those who worship are also those who doubt -- like being
simultaneously saint and sinner, or the divine and human natures in
Jesus, or the body/bread, blood/wine of communion. We frequently talk
about two things existing at the same time.

Mark Allan Powell writes about this verse in his book, _Loving Jesus_.

... I want to note that the word _some_ is not actually found in the Greek Bible. Why is it in the English version? Well, Matthew uses a particular construction here that allows translators to think that the word _some_ could be implied. He also uses that construction in seventeen other instances, though no one ever seems to think the word is implied in those cases. It _could_ be implied here, but why would it be? I asked a Bible translator that question one time and got the following response: "The verse wouldn't make sense otherwise. No one can worship and doubt at the same time." I invited this fellow to visit a Lutheran church. We do it all the time. [p. 121]

However, this verse is understood, it illustrates that the separation
of the wheat and weeds has not yet occurred (13:39, 40). Both
worshipers and doubters are present in the community and/or in
individuals.

It is also to be noted that whether worshipers and doubters are two
groups of people, or a description of the whole group, Jesus gives the
Great Commission to them all -- to the worshipers and doubters.

The word translated "doubt" (_distazo_) is a verbal form of _dis_ =
twice, double. It is not "disbelieving" (_apisteuo_) so much as
wavering between two (or more) strong possibilities. We might say, "to
have second thoughts." Its only other occurrence in the NT is Mt
14:31, where Jesus after saving sinking Peter, criticizes him, "You of
little faith, why did you *doubt*?" Peter, seeing Jesus and himself
walk on water, knows that it is possible to do that; but Peter also
knows the strong possibility that people sink in water. He wavers. He
walks on water and he sinks into the water. After they get into the
boat, the wind ceases, and then 14:33 states: "And those in the boat
*worshiped* him, saying, 'Truly you are the Son of God.'" (The Greek
for "worship" in 14:33 is the same word in 28:17.)

The two times that the disciples doubt Jesus, they also worship him!

Powell (_Loving Jesus_) writes more about this:

I think that worship is the essence of spirituality. But worship ... can sometimes be superficial. In Matthew 15, Jesus tells the Pharisees that they worship God with their lips while their hearts are far from God. The Pharisees, of course, are often the fall guys in this Gospel and they seem to stay in trouble the whole time. Still, say what you will about the Pharisees -- the one thing they never do is _doubt_. They are always certain about everything. They are the "God said it, I believe it, that settles it" people of the Bible. It never occurs to them that they might have overlooked something or misunderstood something. As a result, they are often wrong, but they are never in doubt.

By contrast, disciples of Jesus worship and doubt at the same time -- and Jesus doesn't call _their_ worship superficial. it might be going too far to say that doubt is a _good_ thing, but I do note that Jesus never rebukes anyone for it. I am tempted to believe that, just as fear seasons joy, so doubt seasons worship. Joy without fear becomes shallow, and worship without doubt can be self-assured and superficial. _Fear_ and _doubt_ are not good things in themselves, but they do keep us grounded in reality. [p. 123]

M. Eugene Boring (_Matthew_, NIB) says this about the verse: "Whatever
the nature of the resurrection event, it did not generate perfect
faith even in those who experienced it firsthand. It is not to angels
or perfect believers, but to the worshiping/wavering community of
disciples to whom the world mission is entrusted." [pp. 502-503]

We are commissioned even if we don't fully comprehend the doctrine of
the Trinity or if we are unable to understand the Athanasian Creed or
even if we waver in our own faith.

Jesus has been given all authority (_exousia_). The same word is used
in 8:9, when the centurion says: "For I also am a man under
*authority*, with soldiers under me; and I say to one, 'Go' and he
goes, . . ."

Jesus, with all authority, tells us to Go. Do we honor that authority
over us and go? The two women earlier in the chapter do.

Our task is "to make disciples" (_matheteuo_ also occurring in Mt
13:53; 27:57; Ac 14:21). The noun "disciple" carries the sense of
"being a pupil or learner". Do we see the Church's outreach as
inviting people to be life-long learners of God? or just members of
the congregation?

Jesus' earlier commissioning of the Twelve did not include the
Gentiles or Samaritans, but only "the lost sheep of the house of
Israel" (10:5-6). That restriction is lifted.

Two present tense active participles explain the process of the main
verb "make disciples." That is, the means for making disciples are
"baptizing" and "teaching".

Baptism and teaching need to go together. Churches that baptize
infants receive promises that the baptized will be taught. Perhaps we
would do well to consider Baptism as the initiation into the teaching
ministry of the church, rather than just into church membership.

In previous notes I've expressed my thinking about _tereo_
("keep/obey") as meaning "to make into a keepsake," "to hold dear,"
"to consider important" rather than "to (blindly) obey".

This also implies that our "teaching" is more than just imparting
knowledge, but also values. We not only need to know what Jesus did
and said, but to hold them dear so that we desire to do what he said
and emulate what he did. Values are "caught" more than they are
"taught". An unbelieving college professor can teach *about*
Christianity; but only a believer can share the spirit of being
Christian.

Similarly, I think that it is only disciples who are able to produce
other disciples. To use a biblical image: the fruit of a plant
contains the seed and nutrients to produce another plant. The "fruit"
of a disciple should be something that is able to produce another
disciple. Recent books I have been reading have stressed the need for
congregational leaders to be disciples -- to practice marks of
discipleship: daily prayer, weekly worship, Bible reading, service,
spiritual friendships, and giving. Michael Foss lists these marks in
_Power Surge: Six Marks of Discipleship for a Changing Church_. I
would add one to these: being invitational. If we don't believe what
we believe strong enough to invite others into it, then I wonder how
strongly we really believe it. While certainly believe in Christ is
part of that, but also belief in our congregations and in our
congregational ministries and activities.

What did Jesus command (_entellomai_) them? Only once in Matthew does
Jesus "give a command". After the transfiguration, Jesus commands
them: "Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of man has
been raised from the dead" (17:9). Now is the time to speak about
Jesus' transfiguration. The related noun (_entole_) is used to refer
to the law and the prophets (5:19) and in reference to the Ten
Commandments and the Greatest Commandments which summarizes all the
law and prophets (15:3; 19:17; 22:36, 38, 40).

Matthew's gospel ends as it began, with the promise of "Emmanuel" =
"God with us"; (in contrasted to Luke's ascension and John's "going to
the Father".)

We need the assurance of this presence before the "end of the age."
That phrase is used three other times in Mt. At that time the angels
will separate the weeds and the wheat (13:39, 40) and the evil from
the righteous (13:49). Before that time, weeds and wheat grow up
together. Evil and the righteous exist side by side. And we will
worship and doubt.

THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY -- SOME QUOTES

Frederick Houk Borsch, since 1988, has been Bishop of the Episcopal
Diocese of Los Angeles. I don't remember where I first read this quote
on the Trinity, but my notes indicate that when he wrote it, he was a
religion Professor of Religion at Princeton University and Dean of the
Princeton University Chapel.

There are probably a number of people who imagine that the idea of the Trinity was thought up by ivory-tower theologians who, typically, were making things more complicated than they needed to be and were obscuring the simple faith of regular believers. In fact, it seems that the process worked pretty much the other way around. Practicing believers and worshipers were driven by their experiences of God's activity to the awareness that God related in several different ways to the creation.... Thus what these believers came to insist upon was that God had to be recognized as being in different forms of relationship with the creation, in ways at least like different persons, and that all these ways were divine, that is, were of God. Yet there could not be three gods. God, to be the biblical God and the only God of all, had to be one God. This complex and profound faith was then handed over for the theologians to try and make more intelligible. They have been trying ever since.

THE TRINITY -- ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN FAITH

I don't think that the doctrine of the Trinity and orthodox Christian
faith can be separated -- even if we can't comprehend it. There is
quite a debate going on in Utah whether or not Mormons can be part of
the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. FCA maintains that the Mormons
are not Christian. The Mormons say they are. (They are not Christians
in my opinion. Among other things they do not believe the doctrine of
the Trinity.)

Marva J. Dawn in _Reaching Out without Dumbing Down_ has a chapter
called "Outside the Idolatries of Contemporary Culture. She begins it
with:

To be _in_ the world but not _of_ it requires the Church both to understand the surrounding culture and to resist its idolatries.... As Walter Brueggemann makes clear in _Israel's Praise_, the worship of God's people is praise, not only toward God, but also against the gods." [p. 41].

On Trinity Sunday when we uplift the one true God, we may need to also
shatter all the false gods permeating our society. Some of culture's
gods that Dawn names are (paragraphs marked > are from the book [pp.
42-53], otherwise they are my comments):

<< The God of Efficiency >>

Our culture is characterized by an enormous push to do everything faster. (We _must_ finish the worship service in an hour.)

Can we actually "waste" a whole day for Sabbath rest and worship? Set
aside a whole day for God and each other? What gods are we worshiping
when we are unable to "remember a whole Sabbath day to keep it holy"?

<< The Idolatry of Money >>

Our worship services ought not to be designed by what appeals to the masses in order to survive financially; rather, they must be planned in a genuinely worshipful way that invites persons into the essence of truthful Christianity.

There are certainly many other ways we idolize money and fall under
the power of Greed.

<< The Idolatry of "The Way We've Always Done It Before" >>

On the opposite pole of trying too hard to appeal to the masses and consequently losing the substance of the faith is the idolatry of traditionalism, which causes us to do everything as it's always been done, to such an extent that worship remains boring and stale.

A friend suggests that Christianity should never be boring.

<< The God of Vicarious Subjectivism and The Idolatry of "Famous People" >>

At the 1987 Vancouver World's Fair, the Christian pavilion's presentation utilized glitzy double-reversed photography and flashing lasers. When I tried to explain my qualms about the production to an attendant who had asked me how I liked their 'show,' she protested that it had saved many people. I asked, "Saved by what kind of Christ?" If people are saved by a spectacular Christ, will they find him in the fumbling of their own devotional life or in the humble services of local parishes where pastors and organists make mistakes? Will a glitzy portrayal of Christ nurture in new believers his character of willing suffering and sacrificial obedience? Will it create an awareness of the idolatries of our age and lead to repentance? And does a flashy, hard-rock sound track bring people to a Christ who calls us away from the world's superficiality to a deeper reflection and meditation?

Boomers who are too busy to be committed themselves think they can just hire others to do all the work of the Church.

This practice creates vicarious Christians -- believers who don't
recognize the value of their own daily experiences of following Jesus,
but create (and financially support) "hyped-up performers" who do
Christianity for them.

<< The God of Competition and The Idolatry of Numbers and Success >>

How destructive it is to genuine discipleship to measure the success of the Church by the numbers of people attracted rather than by the depth of faith and outreach nurtured!

On the other hand, the danger of these idolatries cannot be used as an excuse not to care for the people in the world around us, not to do all we can to attract them to Christ. That concern, however, must always be guided by the goal of faithfulness rather than of numerical success.

<< The Idolatry of Power >>

Persons trained to "demand their rights" want the power to set the agenda for the Church's worship.

Rumor and the tastes of the public become more important in making planning decisions than the skill and training of qualified theologians, pastors, and musicians.

This may also spell over into people demanding that others accept
their understanding of God, no matter how heretical it may be. Like
Constantine, they may be unwilling to place themselves under the
tutelage of qualified Christian teachers. Bill Easum suggests that
rather than seeing church membership as something that offers rights
and privileges, what if we stressed the obligations of servanthood?
For example, for churches that have schools, why give a discount to
church members? Why not charge members more, so that discounts might
be given to the unchurched?

A NEW SUBSECTION: THE NAME "FATHER"

Marva Dawn in the book presents the following argument for the use of
Father as a name for God. It certainly isn't the only reason we should
keep the word, but it offers an important perspective.

Human beings have especially violated God's plan for harmony and mutuality. Consequently, all images for God offer us correctives, visions of how to live out our new creation. God's image as the Perfect Father is certainly such a corrective.

I delight in the Scriptures' feminine images for God, but for years I've wondered why God chose to reveal himself more often as Father, since that image has led to such ungodly patriarchal oppression. Perhaps Isaiah 49:15 provides a key to the mystery. God asks rhetorically, "Can a mother forget the baby she has borne?" We all respond, "Of course not!" Tragically, in our present culture drug problems, the stresses of a technological milieu, extreme disarray in families, and other factors do sometimes cause mothers to forget their children. Generally, however, in the history of the world's various cultures, it is an exception rather than the rule if women don't properly care for their children. Fathers, on the other hand, are often absent, frequently emotionally distant, sometimes negligent. In the Greek and Roman societies of biblical times, elite men might attend orgies with educated, high-class prostitutes while their wives were kept hidden at home to raise good children. Even more so today, as we see from the statistics of absentee fathers and single-mother households, fathers are more likely than mothers to forget their children. Among other reasons, God reveals himself as Father to teach us his design for human families. The Hebrew image of 'womb-love' (the principal First Testament word for God's compassion) functions similarly, but women seem to have done a better job of following God's nurturing design. To the question "Can a woman forget the baby she has borne?" we still answer, "No, not usually."

The image of Father, therefore, accomplishes three important purposes: it reveals God as lord, lover, and model. The divine Father stands in a transcendent, yet caring relationship with his children and thereby models the perfect combination of authority and intimate tenderness that human fathers need to care best for their children. [pp. 101-102]

If men want to know what being a father should be like, they need to
look to the Father. The same is true for properly understanding a
mother's love for children.

For us to properly understand the Christian God, we need to maintain
our (inadequate) understanding of the Trinity. Without it, we are
falling prey to some other god. I also think that we need to keep in
mind that we have been commissioned by the risen Jesus: We,
Christians, who are saints and sinners; worshipers and doubters, who
don't have all the answers, have been commended by Christ to go and
make disciples – other people who are saints and sinners, worshipers
and doubters, and who won't have all the answers either. We all live
by faith, not by answers.

Finally, I don't know where I got the following quotes there were in
an old sermon, but I like them.

"To try to deny the Trinity endangers your salvation, to try to
comprehend the Trinity endangers your sanity." Martin Luther.

"Bring me a worm that can comprehend a human being, and then I will
show you a human being that can comprehend the Triune God!" John
Wesley

Brian Stoffregen
Faith Lutheran Church, 2215 S 8th Ave., Yuma, AZ 85364
e-mail: brian.stoffregen@gmail.com

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