In case you never noticed it before, the end of the
Gospel of Matthew is structured to identify all of the various witnesses of the
trial, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.
The witnesses at the trial:
The false witnesses at the trial at the house of the High
Priest.
The
cowardly witness in the courtyard, Peter.
The High Priest and his mob of “witnesses” interacting
with Pontius Pilate.
The “witnesses” to Jesus’ death on the cross:
The High priests and their group are hostile “witnesses.”
Mary and the other women from are friendly witnesses.
The Roman Centurion and his group are neutral witnesses.
The two robbers are also witnesses.
The sun becomes a “witness” when it darkens.
The earth becomes a “witness” when it shakes.
The temple becomes a “witness” when its veil is torn in
half.
Even the dead become witnesses when they come out of
their tombs after the resurrection.
The witnesses of the burial:
Joseph of Arimathea was secretly a disciple of Jesus and he moved
stealthily to prepare the body for burial.
The priests had a “secret” meeting with Pilate where they discussed how to
make the tomb secure.
The witnesses at the empty tomb:
The guards are perplexed witnesses who don’t understand
what is happening.
The angel is an informed witness who knows that Jesus has
risen from the dead.
The women at this point are hearsay witnesses since they
heard the angel say that Jesus rose from the dead.
The witnesses of
the resurrected Jesus:
The women who met
Jesus became reliable first hand witnesses of the resurrection. Their witness
was a type of forensic examination that included seeing, hearing, and touching
Jesus.
The High priests
resorted to corrupting witnesses with bribes to lie about Jesus’ resurrection.
The disciples became
official witnesses of the resurrected Jesus and were given the Great
Commission.
J. Clontz – Editor
of the Comprehensive New Testament
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