November 11th, 2023

This Sunday is known as the Twenty-fourth Sunday after Pentecost—the numbers get increasingly higher—and the gospel text appointed for this Sunday goes farther along in the Gospel according to Matthew (25:1-13)—although it is not as far along as it is on Passion Week. But we are even farther along in this gospel account as we come near to the end of the church year.

Although what happened to Jesus after the cross should be quite familiar, you may wish to look at what some other translations have and/or a study bible. This may give some insights regarding the details of the following text—which can sometimes be a bit complicated.

Sometimes a very old Greek word is similar to an English word, but the two words do not bring up the same picture in one’s mind (take, for example, the word ‘custodian’). And, of course, each of the four accounts will have some unique details when it comes to the final events of Jesus’ life—and especially after his resurrection (spoiler alert!). Each account gives a valuable and slightly different perspective. What follows is this writer’s attempt at a somewhat-literal translation of what happened after the centurion—one of the last people you would expect—confessed Jesus to be the Son of God (Matthew 27:55-66):

Now they were there, women, many, from afar, beholding, who they followed, the Jesus, from the Galilee, ministering to him; in whom was Mary, the Magdalene, and Mary, the one of the Jacob and of Joseph, mother, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.
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Now evening having happened, he came, a man, rich, from Arimathea, the name Joseph, who also himself was discipled to Jesus; this one, having approached the Pilate, he asked for himself the body of the Jesus. Then the Pilate commanded to be given over. And having taken the body, the Joseph, he wrapped it in a sheet, clean; and he placed it in the new of him, tomb, which he cut in the rock, and having rolled a stone, mega, in the door of the tomb, he went away.

Now she was there, Mary, the Magdalene, and the other Mary, sitting opposite the grave.

Now on the next day, which is after the Preparation, they were assembled, the arch-priests and the Pharisees toward Pilate, saying, “Lord, we remembered that the deceiver, that, he said, still living, ‘After three days I am rising.’ Therefore, command to be secured the grave until the third day, lest having gone, the disciples of him may steal him, and they may say to the people, ‘He was raised from the dead,’ and it will be, the last deceit, worse of the first.”

He told to them, the Pilate, “You have a custodian; go off, secure for yourselves as you know.” Now the ones, having gone, they secured for themselves the grave, having sealed the stone with the custodian.

As was mentioned above, each account includes some unique things. There are a lot of unique things in the Gospel according to John. (It will be a while before we study that gospel account.) The last two paragraphs of the text above are what could be called unique to the Gospel according to Matthew.

It is interesting to see a contrast in how this unique section begins, especially when compared to some of the things that have happened in the past. The word ‘assembled’ is the basis of the word for ‘synagogue’. And the last time this word was used was in 27:27, where the soldiers are assembling ‘against’ Jesus to make fun of him, sort of the opposite of what is happening here. The enemies of Jesus are assembling ‘toward’ Pilate, and they call him ‘Lord’. An assembling that is ‘toward’ Jesus and that is positive happened a long time ago, in Matthew 13:2. (You may wish to look up these verses.)

People assemble a lot these days—especially when compared to the time of COVID—and they are ‘against’ certain things and ‘toward’ certain things. There also may be an ‘assembly’ of only one person who is very much against certain things and toward certain things. But this person does not need to be alone. Perhaps this person can find someone else who agrees with them on the important things.

The title ‘deceiver’ that is given to Jesus above is connected to the verb ‘to wander’. A lot of people wander a lot these days. And some can be convinced that they are headed in a good direction. But a good direction is not always that obvious.
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There are two groups that are becoming more prominent as this gospel account comes to an end. Jesus may have wandered for a little while in Galilee. His disciples were sometimes not too good of an example to follow. But Jesus finally and most certainly made his way to the cross and the tomb—which will soon be empty (yet another spoiler alert!).