Jesus Remembered: Christianity in the Making, vol. 1

518.3 Et Resurrexit
but some doubted. 18
And Jesus came and
said to them, 'All
authority in heaven and
on earth has been given
to me. 19 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,
20 and teaching them to
observe everything that
I have commanded you.
And remember, I am
with you always, to the
end of the age'.
it was Jesus. 5 Jesus said to them, 'Children, you have no fish, have you?'
They answered him, 'No'. 6 He said to them, 'Cast the net to the right side
of the boat, and you will find some'. So they cast it, and now they were not
able to haul it in because there were so many fish. 7 That disciple whom
Jesus loved said to Peter, 'It is the Lord!' When Simon Peter heard that it
was the Lord, he put on some clothes, for he was naked, and jumped into the
sea. 8 But the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish,
for they were not far from the land, only about a hundred yards off. 9 When
they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on it, and
bread. 10 Jesus said to them, 'Bring some of the fish that you have just
caught'. 11 So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of
large fish, a hundred and fifty-three of them; and though there were so
many, the net was not torn. 12 Jesus said to them, 'Come and have
breakfast'. Now none of the disciples dared to ask him, 'Who are you?',
because they knew it was the Lord. 13 Jesus came and took the bread and
gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. 14 This was now the third
time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.
In contrast to the accounts of the appearances to the eleven in Jerusalem,
the accounts of the appearances in Galilee have no point of contact whatsoever.
Even the common locale is not so much agreed, since in Matthew they encounter
Jesus on a mountain, 116 whereas in John the meeting takes place on the shore of
the lake.
It is obvious that Matthew has used whatever tradition was available to
him 117 to bring his Gospel to a climax with the affirmation of Jesus' divine authority,
the great commission, and the conclusion to his 'God with us' theme. 118
This in itself marks out the appearance from the other more 'earthbound' appearances,
giving it a more 'heavenly' character. 119 Another interesting feature is the
close of 28.17: 'they worshipped (prosekynesan) him, but some doubted
116. Matthew evidently intended the 'mountain' to be understood as the place where divine
revelation is given (Matt. 5.1; 15.29; 17.1; 24.3; 28.16); see particularly T. L. Donaldson,
Jesus on the Mountain: A Study in Matthean Theology (JSNTS 8; Sheffield: JSOT, 1985).
117. B. J. Hubbard, The Matthean Redaction of a Primitive Apostolic Commissioning
(SBLDS 19: Missoula: Scholars, 1974) reconstructs a primitive commissioning narrative behind
the several appearances to the eleven: 'Jesus appeared to the eleven. When they saw him
they were glad, though some disbelieved. Then he said: preach (the gospel) to all nations, (baptize)
in my name for the forgiveness of sins. (And behold), I will send the Holy Spirit upon you'
(131).
118. Since O. Michel, 'The Conclusion of Matthew's Gospel' (1950), ET in G. N.
Stanton, ed., The Interpretation of Matthew (London: SPCK, 1983) 30-41, it has been common
to regard 28.18-20 as the climax, if not the key, to Matthew's Gospel. On the 'God with us' motif
(Matt. 1.23; 18.20; 28.20) see above, chapter 11 n. 20. Notable is the absence of any account
of an ascension.
119. See my Jesus and the Spirit 124, and the distinction suggested by J. Lindblom,
Gesichte und Offenbarungen (Lund: Gleerup, 1968) 104-105, 108-109, 111-12, between appearances
on earth (what he calls 'christepiphanies') and appearances from heaven
('christophanies').
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