The Holy Trinity
Preaching
PREACHING MATTHEW'S GOSPEL
A Narrative Approach
The closing verses of Matthew's Gospel include the Trinitarian formula in the call to go to all the nations. For this reason these verses are appointed for the Sunday of the Holy Trinity. (See the Preface for a brief comment on the place of the Holy Spirit in the Gospel of Matthew.) There is little in the text to help us grasp what "Trinity" might mean. We will have to import that from our theological traditions. It is often said that this Sunday is the only day in the church's year devoted to a doctrine. There is a call here to teach the meaning of this complex Christian doctrine. The text is filled with many other motifs fit for teaching as well.
The narrative itself is the third scene in Matthew's post-resurrection account. In scene 1 (vv. 1-10) the women discover an empty tomb and the disciples are told to go to Galilee to meet the crucified and risen Jesus. In scene 2 (vv. 11-15) we hear the last words about Israel's religious leaders in their dogged rejection of their Messiah.
Once again the enemies of Jesus hatch a plot (26:3) and pay out money to ensure cooperation (26:14-15). Once they sought out false testimony (26:59-60), and now they pay a sum of money (26:15) to suppress the truth and spread a lie.1
The soldiers were taught by their leaders and they did what they were taught. The Greek verb translated by the RSV as "directed" is a form of the Greek word for teaching. It is the same root word as that used by Jesus when he commands his disciples to go, baptize, and teach. The disciples, like the soldiers, go and do as they were taught! Two kinds of teaching are present here. Matthew gives the reader a choice. Whose teaching shall we listen to?
Scene 3 of Matthew 28 is our appointed text. The eleven disciples meet Jesus on a mountain in Galilee. Our Chapter 37 discusses this incredible gathering of the disciples by their Risen Lord. The disciples have just fallen asleep on Jesus, they have betrayed him, deserted him, and denied him. (See Chapter 37 for scripture references.) They have all fallen away just as Jesus, their Shepherd, had foretold: Matthew 26:31. Jesus had also foretold that he would meet the disciples in Galilee after his death (Matthew 26:32). And so he does. Jesus gathers the scattered flock.
...the resurrected Jesus meets the disciples as the one who reconciles them to himself. True, some of the disciples worship him while others of them doubt (28:17). Nonetheless, doubt is "little faith," or weak faith, but is not "unfaith" (14:32), so that the assertion stands: the resurrected Jesus gathers the scattered disciples and reconciles them to himself.2
This is the Christian Church in nuce. Sinners gather around the graceful presence of Jesus/Emmanuel.
It is not surprising that Jesus meets the disciples again in Galilee. Galilee is where his ministry began: Matthew 4:12-16. His ministry took place primarily in Galilee. The report of his leaving Galilee comes in 19:1.
Nor is it surprising that Jesus meets them on a mountain in Galilee. Jesus' ministry began with his temptation on a mountain: 4:1-11, 8. On a mountain Jesus gave his great sermon: 5:1. Jesus often withdrew from his ministry in order to pray in the mountains: 14:23. Crowds came to Jesus for healing on a mountain: 15:29-31. It was on a mountain that he was transfigured: 17:1-9. In the end, therefore, it is fitting that it is on a mountain that Jesus teaches the disciples their task of obedience and discipleship. Mountaintops were also of importance in the Old Testament as places of the revelation of God. Mountains and revelation go together in biblical thinking. Now, on this mountain, Jesus will reveal to his disciples their mission.
When the disciples encountered Jesus they worshiped him. We were told in 28:9 that the first response of the women to the presence of the resurrected Jesus is also that of worship.
When we encounter the Risen Jesus, worship is to be our basic human response. It's easy to lose sight of this. Perhaps we have spent so much time in the presence of the Risen One that we have lost sight of the awe that his presence among us should inspire.
They worshiped him but some doubted. Those words jump right off the page. We are prepared for the disciples to worship their Risen Lord. We are not prepared for them to doubt. Smith comments:
To the close of the age, the church is a mixed body consisting of good and evil (22:10), wheat and tares (13:24-30, 36-43), sheep and goats (25:32-33), and even "the good" are sometimes people of "little faith" (6:30; 8:26; 14:31; 16:8).3
Matthew's picture of the Christian community is very realistic. We don't want it to be that way. Still, there is some perverse comfort to be taken from the fact that on the mountain in Galilee where the disciples first encountered Jesus as the Risen One--some doubted! It's always been this way. This side of the kingdom of heaven it probably always will be this way. It's healthy to accept this reality. We are challenged to realize, however, that mission starts at home!
Jesus issues orders, and they may be translated: "Be busy constantly making disciples of all nations." Discipleship is the heart of the matter. And the charge to make disciples is aimed at telling the church not only what to do about people outside but especially what to do with the people inside the new community. This is a command about the integrity of the church.4
Jesus speaks to the disciples as the One to whom all authority has been given. In Matthew 21:23ff. Jesus is challenged about the nature of his authority. Matthew reports three vineyard stories told by Jesus in answer to the authority question. We discussed this matter thoroughly in our Chapters 28 and 29. If you did not deal with the earlier material in narrative form you could certainly consider telling the vineyard stories at this juncture in your preaching.
We might just note the recurring theme of all in these brief verses. It is all authority, all nations, all I have commanded you, and I will be with you all-ways.
All that teachers and scribes saw in Torah or Wisdom--existing before the foundation of the world, seated on the lap of the heavenly King, the principle by which the world hangs together and makes sense, guide and light for the life of God's people--Matthew sees in Jesus (5:21-48; 11:28-30; 16:12; 18:20; 23:1-36). And all that priests saw in the temple--the great ancient focal point and public symbol of God's presence and provision and of Israel's devotion and identity--Matthew likewise locates in Jesus (12:6; 21:12, 23-27).5
The Authoritative One commissions the disciples in the name of the Triune God to make disciples of all nations. The disciples have gotten the point at last. Jesus is the crucified and risen savior.
...the disciples are not again commanded by Jesus, as previously, to silence concerning him (16:20; 17:9), but are instead commissioned to go and make all nations his disciples (28:19). In reconciling the disciples to himself and in giving them this commission, Jesus resolves the conflict he has had with them. With this conflict so resolved, the disciples move from Easter into the world Jesus predicted for them in his eschatological discourse (chaps. 24-25).6
Baptism was the first public act of Jesus' ministry. He was baptized by John in the river Jordan: 3:11-17. So shall his disciples begin their ministry. They will go to all the nations--baptizing! They shall wash people in the cleansing waters of Christ's righteousness. Mission begins with proclamation and washing. Jesus shall be announced. People will be washed in his name, in the name of the Triune God. All people are to be washed. Gentiles are on the horizon here at the end of Matthew. That is no surprise. Gentiles in the persons of Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba were there at the beginning of the story: 1:1-16.
And teaching. Just what we might expect at the end of this Gospel. "Teaching all that I have commanded you." Jesus has taught a righteousness that exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees: 5:20. His teaching has been summarized in the Sermon on the Mount and the two great commandments of the law. Jesus has fulfilled the law and the prophets. Matthew certainly sees his Gospel as the sum and substance of what is to be taught. Matthew has, as well, pointed towards Jesus as that which is to be taught. Matthew calls us to obedient discipleship and mission in the name and authority of the Risen One. In Jesus' name, in the name of the Triune God, a church is to be born. Matthew's Gospel reaches its fulfillment in the life of the church.
Finally, the Emmanuel theme is present in Matthew one last time. "I am with you always." We met Emmanuel first in 1:23. Emmanuel is the name of the God who is near us to save us from our sins. In 18:15-20 we heard that whenever two or three gather in Jesus' name, whenever the church assembles, "there am I in their midst." The reality of the church is Emmanuel. And, whenever the church carries out its basic mission of baptism, teaching and making disciples, "I am with you always." (We have discussed the Emmanuel theme for preaching in our Chapter 1.)
Homiletical Directions
This text for Trinity Sunday presents us with an embarrassment of riches for preaching. Local need will determine for you whether this week's sermon calls for preaching on the nature of the Trinity or baptism or mission or discipleship or Emmanuel.
The list could go on. In our Chapter 37 we presented the possibility of an Easter sermon which would rehearse the story of the disciples which culminates most stunningly in their being gathered, graced, and commissioned by the Lord. If you did not follow this suggestion for Easter Sunday, such a sermon could certainly be preached on this week's text.
A second narrative possibility would be a sermon on the mixed nature of the church. We commented on this earlier when we talked about the doubting of disciples. Matthew tells several parables that underscore this reality. We could tell the story of the wheat and the tares as our first story: 13:24-30. Our second story could be that of the work of the evil one who plants his evil seed in the midst of the good seed. Story three could be the parable of the king who gave a marriage feast for his son: 22:1-10. The servants are to go out into the highways and hedges and bring in both bad and good. Finally, tell the story of this week's text with the focus on the "some" who doubted.
Jesus is present for us, Emmanuel, just as we are. "I am with you always." This word of Jesus could be our word of proclamation particularly to those inside the church who have their doubts and other foibles. Emmanuel will not give up on any of us!
A sermon on mission to the whole world is, of course, an obvious possibility. Mission to all nations. All nations come into view. Gentiles come into view. Connect this last word of Matthew with his first word that includes those wonderful Gentile women. (Please refer to our Chapter 7 for suggestions for a sermon on mission to the Gentiles.)
____________
1. Robert H. Smith, Matthew: Augsburg Commentary on the New Testament (Minneapolis: Augsburg Press, 1989), p. 334.
2. Jack Dean Kingsbury, Matthew As Story (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1988), p. 91.
3. Smith, op. cit., p. 336.
4. Ibid., p. 338.
5. Ibid., p. 337.
6. Kingsbury, op. cit., p. 92.
The narrative itself is the third scene in Matthew's post-resurrection account. In scene 1 (vv. 1-10) the women discover an empty tomb and the disciples are told to go to Galilee to meet the crucified and risen Jesus. In scene 2 (vv. 11-15) we hear the last words about Israel's religious leaders in their dogged rejection of their Messiah.
Once again the enemies of Jesus hatch a plot (26:3) and pay out money to ensure cooperation (26:14-15). Once they sought out false testimony (26:59-60), and now they pay a sum of money (26:15) to suppress the truth and spread a lie.1
The soldiers were taught by their leaders and they did what they were taught. The Greek verb translated by the RSV as "directed" is a form of the Greek word for teaching. It is the same root word as that used by Jesus when he commands his disciples to go, baptize, and teach. The disciples, like the soldiers, go and do as they were taught! Two kinds of teaching are present here. Matthew gives the reader a choice. Whose teaching shall we listen to?
Scene 3 of Matthew 28 is our appointed text. The eleven disciples meet Jesus on a mountain in Galilee. Our Chapter 37 discusses this incredible gathering of the disciples by their Risen Lord. The disciples have just fallen asleep on Jesus, they have betrayed him, deserted him, and denied him. (See Chapter 37 for scripture references.) They have all fallen away just as Jesus, their Shepherd, had foretold: Matthew 26:31. Jesus had also foretold that he would meet the disciples in Galilee after his death (Matthew 26:32). And so he does. Jesus gathers the scattered flock.
...the resurrected Jesus meets the disciples as the one who reconciles them to himself. True, some of the disciples worship him while others of them doubt (28:17). Nonetheless, doubt is "little faith," or weak faith, but is not "unfaith" (14:32), so that the assertion stands: the resurrected Jesus gathers the scattered disciples and reconciles them to himself.2
This is the Christian Church in nuce. Sinners gather around the graceful presence of Jesus/Emmanuel.
It is not surprising that Jesus meets the disciples again in Galilee. Galilee is where his ministry began: Matthew 4:12-16. His ministry took place primarily in Galilee. The report of his leaving Galilee comes in 19:1.
Nor is it surprising that Jesus meets them on a mountain in Galilee. Jesus' ministry began with his temptation on a mountain: 4:1-11, 8. On a mountain Jesus gave his great sermon: 5:1. Jesus often withdrew from his ministry in order to pray in the mountains: 14:23. Crowds came to Jesus for healing on a mountain: 15:29-31. It was on a mountain that he was transfigured: 17:1-9. In the end, therefore, it is fitting that it is on a mountain that Jesus teaches the disciples their task of obedience and discipleship. Mountaintops were also of importance in the Old Testament as places of the revelation of God. Mountains and revelation go together in biblical thinking. Now, on this mountain, Jesus will reveal to his disciples their mission.
When the disciples encountered Jesus they worshiped him. We were told in 28:9 that the first response of the women to the presence of the resurrected Jesus is also that of worship.
When we encounter the Risen Jesus, worship is to be our basic human response. It's easy to lose sight of this. Perhaps we have spent so much time in the presence of the Risen One that we have lost sight of the awe that his presence among us should inspire.
They worshiped him but some doubted. Those words jump right off the page. We are prepared for the disciples to worship their Risen Lord. We are not prepared for them to doubt. Smith comments:
To the close of the age, the church is a mixed body consisting of good and evil (22:10), wheat and tares (13:24-30, 36-43), sheep and goats (25:32-33), and even "the good" are sometimes people of "little faith" (6:30; 8:26; 14:31; 16:8).3
Matthew's picture of the Christian community is very realistic. We don't want it to be that way. Still, there is some perverse comfort to be taken from the fact that on the mountain in Galilee where the disciples first encountered Jesus as the Risen One--some doubted! It's always been this way. This side of the kingdom of heaven it probably always will be this way. It's healthy to accept this reality. We are challenged to realize, however, that mission starts at home!
Jesus issues orders, and they may be translated: "Be busy constantly making disciples of all nations." Discipleship is the heart of the matter. And the charge to make disciples is aimed at telling the church not only what to do about people outside but especially what to do with the people inside the new community. This is a command about the integrity of the church.4
Jesus speaks to the disciples as the One to whom all authority has been given. In Matthew 21:23ff. Jesus is challenged about the nature of his authority. Matthew reports three vineyard stories told by Jesus in answer to the authority question. We discussed this matter thoroughly in our Chapters 28 and 29. If you did not deal with the earlier material in narrative form you could certainly consider telling the vineyard stories at this juncture in your preaching.
We might just note the recurring theme of all in these brief verses. It is all authority, all nations, all I have commanded you, and I will be with you all-ways.
All that teachers and scribes saw in Torah or Wisdom--existing before the foundation of the world, seated on the lap of the heavenly King, the principle by which the world hangs together and makes sense, guide and light for the life of God's people--Matthew sees in Jesus (5:21-48; 11:28-30; 16:12; 18:20; 23:1-36). And all that priests saw in the temple--the great ancient focal point and public symbol of God's presence and provision and of Israel's devotion and identity--Matthew likewise locates in Jesus (12:6; 21:12, 23-27).5
The Authoritative One commissions the disciples in the name of the Triune God to make disciples of all nations. The disciples have gotten the point at last. Jesus is the crucified and risen savior.
...the disciples are not again commanded by Jesus, as previously, to silence concerning him (16:20; 17:9), but are instead commissioned to go and make all nations his disciples (28:19). In reconciling the disciples to himself and in giving them this commission, Jesus resolves the conflict he has had with them. With this conflict so resolved, the disciples move from Easter into the world Jesus predicted for them in his eschatological discourse (chaps. 24-25).6
Baptism was the first public act of Jesus' ministry. He was baptized by John in the river Jordan: 3:11-17. So shall his disciples begin their ministry. They will go to all the nations--baptizing! They shall wash people in the cleansing waters of Christ's righteousness. Mission begins with proclamation and washing. Jesus shall be announced. People will be washed in his name, in the name of the Triune God. All people are to be washed. Gentiles are on the horizon here at the end of Matthew. That is no surprise. Gentiles in the persons of Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba were there at the beginning of the story: 1:1-16.
And teaching. Just what we might expect at the end of this Gospel. "Teaching all that I have commanded you." Jesus has taught a righteousness that exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees: 5:20. His teaching has been summarized in the Sermon on the Mount and the two great commandments of the law. Jesus has fulfilled the law and the prophets. Matthew certainly sees his Gospel as the sum and substance of what is to be taught. Matthew has, as well, pointed towards Jesus as that which is to be taught. Matthew calls us to obedient discipleship and mission in the name and authority of the Risen One. In Jesus' name, in the name of the Triune God, a church is to be born. Matthew's Gospel reaches its fulfillment in the life of the church.
Finally, the Emmanuel theme is present in Matthew one last time. "I am with you always." We met Emmanuel first in 1:23. Emmanuel is the name of the God who is near us to save us from our sins. In 18:15-20 we heard that whenever two or three gather in Jesus' name, whenever the church assembles, "there am I in their midst." The reality of the church is Emmanuel. And, whenever the church carries out its basic mission of baptism, teaching and making disciples, "I am with you always." (We have discussed the Emmanuel theme for preaching in our Chapter 1.)
Homiletical Directions
This text for Trinity Sunday presents us with an embarrassment of riches for preaching. Local need will determine for you whether this week's sermon calls for preaching on the nature of the Trinity or baptism or mission or discipleship or Emmanuel.
The list could go on. In our Chapter 37 we presented the possibility of an Easter sermon which would rehearse the story of the disciples which culminates most stunningly in their being gathered, graced, and commissioned by the Lord. If you did not follow this suggestion for Easter Sunday, such a sermon could certainly be preached on this week's text.
A second narrative possibility would be a sermon on the mixed nature of the church. We commented on this earlier when we talked about the doubting of disciples. Matthew tells several parables that underscore this reality. We could tell the story of the wheat and the tares as our first story: 13:24-30. Our second story could be that of the work of the evil one who plants his evil seed in the midst of the good seed. Story three could be the parable of the king who gave a marriage feast for his son: 22:1-10. The servants are to go out into the highways and hedges and bring in both bad and good. Finally, tell the story of this week's text with the focus on the "some" who doubted.
Jesus is present for us, Emmanuel, just as we are. "I am with you always." This word of Jesus could be our word of proclamation particularly to those inside the church who have their doubts and other foibles. Emmanuel will not give up on any of us!
A sermon on mission to the whole world is, of course, an obvious possibility. Mission to all nations. All nations come into view. Gentiles come into view. Connect this last word of Matthew with his first word that includes those wonderful Gentile women. (Please refer to our Chapter 7 for suggestions for a sermon on mission to the Gentiles.)
____________
1. Robert H. Smith, Matthew: Augsburg Commentary on the New Testament (Minneapolis: Augsburg Press, 1989), p. 334.
2. Jack Dean Kingsbury, Matthew As Story (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1988), p. 91.
3. Smith, op. cit., p. 336.
4. Ibid., p. 338.
5. Ibid., p. 337.
6. Kingsbury, op. cit., p. 92.
