The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them. When they saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted. Then Jesus approached and said to them, “All power in heaven and on 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, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” (Matthew 28.16-20)
Here in the United States, the Feast of the Ascension of Jesus is celebrated not on the fortieth day after Easter, that is Ascension Thursday, but on the subsequent Sunday, in this way allowing for the person in the pew to have the benefit of hearing the scriptures that relate to this event and that bring to a close the earthly mission and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. Overall, I think the decision to move the feast was a good one, allowing people to see the final act of this “greatest story ever told.”
And because we are in Year A, the year of Matthew, we have his account of the ascension on this Seventh Sunday of Easter. It varies greatly from the story that Luke tells both in his gospel and in Acts of the Apostles, the two versions having little to nothing in common except Jesus’ ascending into the high heavens.
Most notably, as we see today, Matthew has the Resurrected Jesus make his first appearance to the disciples, not in Jerusalem as Luke does, but in Galilee. As we might recall, when the Risen Lord appears to the women outside the tomb in the Gospel of Matthew, he instructs them to “go tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”
The different locations align with the specific intentions of the evangelists. Whereas Luke has Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem occupy front and center in his text, Matthew regularly emphasizes the Galilean ministry of Jesus, concerned as he is with a much wider outreach in Jesus’ mission, the northern part of Judea being the home to many Gentiles, that is, non-Jewish people, unlike Jerusalem, the capital of Judaism, both politically and religiously.
So, it comes as no surprise that we hear the Risen Jesus give his last instructions to his followers in Galilee in Matthew’s account, going so far as to tell them that they are “to make disciples of all nations,” the word nations the same word that often was used for Gentiles. Although Luke will also show this outreach to non-Jews in his second volume, that is, Acts of the Apostles, Matthew does it here at the end of his gospel.
Written near the end of the first century, Matthew’s gospel makes clear in this simple directive that the Matthean community at the time was at a crossroads, the group beginning a new chapter in their history as they were called upon to change the focus of their missionary activity, moving from a Jewish audience to a Gentile one.
The reason for the shift was obvious. The Jews who wished to convert to the way of Jesus had done so; many more had chosen not to switch sides. So it made sense to move away from the Jewish sector into the Gentile one, where the community hoped to find a more receptive audience for their missionary efforts. Matthew crafts his gospel with this outreach in mind, wanting to make clear that the message of Jesus had a wider audience than just a Jewish one.
Already at the start of his gospel, Matthew had signaled his intentions, providing for the Magi “from the East” to visit the child Jesus in Bethlehem, these foreigners being some of the first to kneel at the feet of Jesus, embracing him as “the new king of the Jews.” Surely in a nod to this earlier passage, Matthew has the disciples also kneel before the Resurrected Jesus when he appears to them, the posture serving as bookends at the start and at the end.
Many scholars see these last few verses of Matthew’s text as a neat summary of his whole gospel. For one thing, Matthew has been intent throughout his telling of the life of Jesus to present the primary role of Jesus as that of a teacher, particularly one like Moses of old. The Sermon on the Mount at the start of his ministry will highlight this role, the sermon becoming the longest teaching moment by Jesus in the gospel.
So, it stands to reason that Matthew would close the gospel with a final teaching moment, having Jesus give a last instruction to his followers, instructing them to “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, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.”
As the words make clear, Jesus the Teacher is telling his disciples that their principal role hereafter will be one of teaching, just as his own role was that of a teacher. And the lessons that they are to teach are one and the same that he has taught to them, in this way furthering his mission into the future, making available to future generations the same message that Jesus has bequeathed to them during his days on earth.
Just as importantly, Jesus assures them that they won’t have to do it on their own. Rather, he will accompany and assist them as they teach all the nations. That promise is found in his last words to them, “Behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” Although his physical presence will no longer be visible to them, his spirit will be alongside them, guiding and protecting them until the fullness of the ages when he will return to reclaim his kingdom on earth.
Doubtlessly, that promise to be present to his disciples offers both consolation and courage as the disciples move ahead both geographically and time-wise, expanding and extending the mission of Jesus well beyond the boundaries of Judea and beyond the time period when the Teacher himself walked upon the roads of Galilee. Knowing they were not alone and that his Spirit would continue to guide them on the right path, the disciples found themselves much braver and much more daring.
Of course, that bravery and daringness would take time to manifest itself, the natural weaknesses of the disheartened disciples not easily dislodged. Even here, in this final moment with Jesus, the evangelist tells us that “when the disciples saw Jesus, they worshiped, but they doubted.” Most translators of the text choose to interpret the verse as saying some worshiped, but some doubted, in this way showing the mixed reaction of Jesus’ followers to his presence among them after his crucifixion.
Time has not necessarily changed that dynamic. Whatever the age, there is evidence that some followers of Jesus worship him while others doubt him. Those who worship him follow his instructions, continuing his work among all peoples of the world. Those who doubt him are less quick to follow through on their commitment, instead choosing a more lackadaisical and lackluster approach to discipleship, resulting in far fewer conversions of heart among those looking at Jesus’ followers to show them a reason to believe.
When presented with this particular passage about the ascension, the verse that always stands out to me is the first one, wherein the evangelist tells his listeners that “the eleven disciples went to Galilee to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them.” Anytime I read the verse, I am struck by the words “the eleven disciples.” Up to this point, it has always been “the twelve disciples.”
That sad reality is a loud reminder that one of the disciples, Judas Iscariot, is no longer with the other eleven. Here at the end, after perhaps years of accompanying Jesus on the way, Judas is no longer part of the close band of brothers. Of course, by this point, Matthew has made clear to us Judas’ treachery, proven in the moment by a kiss, one of Jesus’ closest friends choosing to take thirty pieces of silver from his enemies in exchange for handing him over to them.
Also, Matthew has explained that Judas would a short while later take his own life, “deeply regretting what he had done.” As I see it, Judas failed not once, but twice. First, in his betrayal. Then in his believing there was no way back. Of course, the latter may be the same point Matthew made when he presented Peter also as a betrayer, three times denying any association with Jesus. But Peter, like Judas, also regretted his betrayal, but, unlike Judas, he found his way back, believing in Jesus’ mercy.
There is no doubt in my mind that Jesus would have forgiven Judas just as he forgave Peter. In fact, in the very moment that Judas committed his betrayal, betraying Jesus with a kiss, Jesus said to him, “Friend, do what you have come to do.” As we can see, even at that point, Jesus still called him “friend.” For his part, the bond was still there between him and Judas. It was not broken beyond repair, even if Judas thought it was.
As a result, when Jesus makes his one and only appearance to his disciples after his resurrection in this gospel, this final farewell and last instructions taking place atop a mountain in Galilee, much the same as his sermon on the mount, only eleven are there. Judas is no longer present. Matthew makes no attempt to replace Judas as we will find in Luke’s second volume, having another follower named Matthias step into the slot that had belonged to Judas. For his part, Matthew leaves the Judas’s seat at the table vacant.
So, I believe there is much for us to ponder in that phrase “the eleven disciples went to Galilee.” We should not rush past it, but should stay with it for a while, finding in it not only a painful reminder of the loss of one of the twelve, but also an awful warning to those of us who wish to follow Jesus of how easily we can fail the test. It is easy enough to scapegoat Judas, making him an anomaly, but the facts show he was different from the eleven only in degree, not in kind. Not one of the twelve stayed with Jesus as he was hauled away in the dead of night to be crucified the next day.
Little has changed in the course of the years. The ranks of the disciples in our day are always missing one or several, sometimes many who fall along the wayside much the same as Judas did. The reasons may differ, but cowardice is more often than not a common denominator, whatever the excuses offered. We simply lack the courage to go the distance with Jesus.
As a result, Jesus’ final directive is left unfinished. There is a vacancy among the disciples, now as it was then. And a vacant spot means one less person who is willing to go to all the nations, teaching them the way of Jesus of Nazareth, resulting in a world still not persuaded to walk the way of the Galilean teacher because no one is willing to step into the empty place left by Judas.
At the heart of this remembrance of Jesus’ ascension into heaven, then, is a call to those who would be his disciples to take up the mantle, taking his message to the ends of the earth, teaching others by word and by deed the way of Jesus, the Resurrected Lord who, even at the end, longed to see all twelve standing before him, but, sadly, one was missing in action.
–Jeremy Myers
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