Marginal Christianity

Jesus’ Resurrection (Mt.28:1-10) On the day after Sabbath the two Marys, witnesses of Jesus’ burial, trek to his tomb. To “see the tomb” is how Matthew puts it (v.1). And that’s what they expect to see. Yet what they do see is completely unexpected!   Before they can “see” anything, however, an earthquake strikes. And a great angel appeared to roll away the large stone sealing the tomb. “ His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow” (v.3). So terrifying was the sight of him that the Roman guards were struck as if they were dead (v.4). Angels, earthquakes, and open tombs are often biblical symbols for great acts of God. And that seems to be what Matthew wants us to get here. A great act of God has occurred in this place. And not just a miracle, as if Jesus’ resurrection was simply another proof that God can do things beyond our ken and power. Again, Matthew’s not doing apologetics here. He’s proclaiming that God has brought to completion the gr...

Matthew 27:45-56: The Death of Jesus Did God Abandon Jesus? (Mt.27:45-46) “Creation begins with darkness giving way to light, and when lights go out and the world goes back into darkness, it is a signal that creation is being undone.” [1] And that what we find Matthew telling us in the buildup to Jesus’ death. Nothing more or stronger could express the unthinkable horror of what was happening on Skull Hill that fateful day. Little wonder Jesus cried out from the cross “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (v.46). What else could he have said given the enormity of this event? This quotation from Psa.22:1 sets his travail within the tradition of righteous suffers in Israel. As creation unravels the divine voice sounds again as it did over the watery chaos of the first stage of creation (Gen.1:2). But this is not a calm voice of settled declaration. It is a cry of agony. This is the end of all things. Not the end of the world as we might think about it but the end...

The Setup (26:1-5) The end near now. Very near. His final discoursed finished [1] (v.1), Jesus makes this portentous statement: “You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.” His thrice predicted demise is at hand (16:21; 17:22-23; 21:18-19). His active obedience finished, Jesus now is the one acted on, seemingly at the mercy of others (his passive obedience). Three key terms punctuate this saying. -Passover : the great commemoration for the Jews of God’s great act of liberating them from slavery in Egypt. This puts his coming death in proper perspective. It is of that magnitude, or greater (as we have come to expect Jesus to say in this gospel). -Son of Man : Jesus’ favorite self-designation from Dan.7. It is the term he uses to indicate his (and his -people’s) coming rule. -crucified : here’s the twist in the kind of rule Jesus (and his people will exercise). Here Jesus combines Isa.53’s suffering...